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DR LIVINGSTONE’S
CAMBRIDGE LECTURES, |
TOGETHER WITH
A PREFATORY LETTER
BY THE
REV. PROFESSOR SEDGWICK, M.A., F.R.S., &c.
VICE-MASTER OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION, LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE,
NOTES AND APPENDIX,
BY THE
REV. WILLIAM MONK, M.A. F.R.A.S. &e.
OF ST JOHN’S COLLEGE, AND CURATE OF CHRIST'S CHURCH, CAMBRIDGE.
WITH A PORTRAIT AND MAP,
ALSO
A LARGER MAP, BY ARROWSMITH, GRANTED ESPECIALLY FOR THIS WORK BY THE
PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON:
THE WHOLE WORK BEING A COMPENDIUM OF INFORMATION ON THE
CENTRAL SOUTH AFRICAN QUESTION,
Published for the Editor
BY
DEIGHTON, BELL AND Co. CAMBRIDGE.
BELL AND DALDY, LONDON.
1858.
Cambridge :
PRINTEDE BY GC. U7 CLAY,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
TO THE
MEMBERS OF OUR UNIVERSITIES IN PARTICULAR,
AND TO THE
YOUNG MEN OF GREAT BRITAIN IN GENERAL,
Chis Hook is dedicated by the Editor,
IN THE PRAYERFUL HOPE THAT THEIR ATTENTION WILL BE TURNED
BY ITS PERUSAL TO THE PRESSING NEED OF
MISSIONARIES
IN THE HEATHEN MISSION FIELD NOW SO MUCH ENLARGED
BY THE LABOURS OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
“‘ Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Matt. ix. 37, 38.
God ‘‘ hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.’’ Acts xvii. 26.
*« And they shall come from the east, and from the west, anid from thenorth, and from the south, ani
shall sit down in the kingdom of God.’? Luke niii. 29.
Contents.
—_—»>——_
PAGE
INTRODUCTION , : : : ; - : I
Lire oF Dr LIVINGSTONE P : , : : F 5, ae
PROFESSOR SEDGWICK’S PREFATORY LETTER. F ‘ i—xciii
Lecture I. P . A F : 3 - ; ; : I
LECTURE ele e e . e e . . ° e = 25
APPENDIX.
SECTION I.
Dr Livinestone’s LaBours, EXPLORATIONS, AND DISCOVERIES
CONSIDERED AS TO THEIR EXTENT AND RESULTS IN THEIR
HISTORICAL ASPECT . Z - . : : ? - Se
SECTION II.
Dr Livinestone’s LABours, EXPLORATIONS, AND DISCOVERIES
CONSIDERED AS TO THEIR EXTENT AND RESULTS IN THEIR
ScIENTIFIC ASPECT : ; : ‘ : : ‘ 60
GEOGRAPHY : i : : z ‘ : t 61
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY : ‘ , . F : . Jo
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
METEOROLOGY . é : : “ : * i » ia
Beery a ow ae Us A rr
ZOOLOGY . : : : ‘ : é : : +. 6a
SOME OTHER NATURAL SCIENCES : ; ‘ ‘ : Pryce |
SECTION III.
Dr Livinestone’s LABOURS, EXPLORATIONS, AND DISCOVERIES
CONSIDERED AS TO THEIR EXTENT AND RESULTS IN THEIR
ETHNOLOGICAL ASPECT : : é } : , «tee
UNITY OF ouR Race : , L ; A p : . | eae
SoutH AFRICAN TRIBES. : ’ 2 : : é . 86
The Bechuana family of Tribes : . : - dB
Mie Ballas aban ie Woy uke e ACLS 2) aa
The Backwains, or Bechuanas . F : ti : 2 eg
The Kafirs, or Caffres . 5 ; : : : Oo
The Makololo : ; coh, : ; ; : Oz
The Matebele : ; A : : eM ero li - ) Oz
The Bushmen. : 4 ‘ : 5 : : oii! AOR
The Bakoba, or Bayeige : A : j A 2 | iB
The Makalala ; : ; ; - j : 2
The Barotse : ; P : ; : : : - §6
The Balonda ; : : ; : : : 3, See
The Mambari_. : . ; : : , : os LO
The Batoka . ; : : : ; , : : - 99
Traces of the ancient Egyptians . : ; : : . 100
Is RACE INFLUENCED BY CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHICAL SITUA-
TION? . : . : “ - : - é : ~| TOF
AFRICAN DISEASES AND MEDICAL PRACTICE . : : - Los
NATIVE LOVE OF COMMERCE : ‘ - ‘ - + J
THE SICHUANA LANGUAGE : 5 ; ‘ , ; ;* 168
Its Construction . : : ‘ : ; : ; re9
Its Importance . - - ; - >it ae 5 bo Onan
THE AFRICAN RACES NOT INFERIOR TO OTHERS . ° ° - 124
CONTENTS.
SECTION IV.
Dr Livinestone’s LaBours, EXPLORATIONS, AND DISCOVERIES
CONSIDERED AS TO THEIR EXTENT AND RESULTS IN THEIR
Morat AND RELIGIOUS ASPECT ; : m ;
THE PRESENT MoraAbL CoONDITICN OF THE NATIVES OF SovUTH
AFRICA 3 : F ‘ F :
THE PRESENT RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE NATIVES OF SovutTH
AFRICA ; . Z F - 4
MISSIONARY RETROSPECT WITH REGARD TO SouTH AFRICA
THE QUALIFICATIONS AND ATTAINMENTS NECESSARY FOR THE
SUCCESSFUL MISSIONARY IN SouTH AFRICA 3
Ds Livinestonr’s LETTER WITH RESPECT TO MISSIONARIES .
The Natural Qualifications of the Christian Missionary. :
The Moral and Spiritual Qualifications needed by the Chris-
tian Missionary . : : - ; : : ;
The Attainments best suited for the Christian Missionary .
MIssIONARY PROSPECTS IN SouTH AFRICA : : :
THE MISSION FIELD IN SoutH AFRICA . : : :
MISSIONARIES WANTED MORE THAN MEANS, TO CARRY ON THE
WORK . ° e e e s . A .
THE MEANS APPOINTED FOR THE WORK—IHE VictToRY Won .
Vil
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INTRODUCTION.
i a Y friends on whom I can well rely have urged
the publication of Dr Livingstone’s Cambridge
Lectures ; which on comparison with his large work!,
will be found to be, in reality, a valuable epitome of its
most striking features and details; but such an one as
rather increases than lessens the desire for reading that
book.
Several points of great interest belong to these ad-
dresses, as well as to their publication and perusal; these
chiefly being, the value and newness of their contents,
the simple earnestness of their style, and especially the
devoted Missionary tone pervading them. True piety
dictated their delivery, and brightens their perma-
nent embodiment in printed words. Moreover, many
persons who saw, heard, and conversed with the lecturer
himself, will like to possess such a memorial of a visit,
which, regarded in all its bearings, we may hope will be
productive of lasting good.
The cordial reception given by the University to sueh
1 Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa. John Murray,
Albemarle Street, London.
1
II INTRODUCTION.
a man proves to the world at large that she is as ready
as ever to recognize merit, advance science, encourage
philanthropy, and promote religion. In this place of
learning he has left a track behind him; and has sown
seed which will, in the end, produce good fruits in Africa.
He came here with the avowed purpose of striving to
awaken a deeper interest in Christian Missions to the
heathen; and spoke with the authority of the greatest
of modern travellers, among the men and in the place
where a Missionary spirit ought pre-eminently to prevail,
We may conclude that a corresponding good effect was
produced by his visit to Oxford, where he pronounced
like burning words of truth with equal power and grace.
The Senate-House scene was worthy of the most
graphic painting which pen or pencil could portray.
There was a solemn majesty about it which all present
must have felt. It was an uncommon oceasion. Cam-
bridge elevation and culture came suddenly into contact
with the mighty questions of African degradation and
progress. Professor Sedgwick, in his farewell speech! to
Dr Livingstone, delivered in the Combination-room at
Trinity College, declared it to be the most enthusiastic
reception which he had ever witnessed there during the
last half century. Amid the past and present intellectual
glories of that place, this Livingstone reception marks one
of its best eras. Extremes there meet. Africa is ap-
' This speech, to a great extent, is reproduced at p. iv. of his Pre-
fatory Letter.
INTRODUCTION. Ill
pealing by the mouth of her warm-hearted advocate in
one of the greatest centres of civilization and evangeli-
zation in the world, for help in her feebleness, light in
her darkness, truth wherewith to battle her own error,
and redress against her cruel wrongs of centuries. Help,
light and redress, however tardy their approach, are
perhaps effectually nigh at hand. These tones of witch-
ing mastery will not let her plead in vain. The laugh
may now be raised, and the burst of applause alternate
with the cheerful approval of that throng, still in those
thrilling moments of silence, now so breathless, does that
sun-burnt, care and travel-worn, yet happy man, give
utterance to feelings and sentiments which melt the
heart, subdue the being, and enchain the soul. The union
of mankind, into one common brotherhood of feeling, in-
terest, sentiment and love, despite all differences of race,
colour, clime, speech, condition, and nationality, seems
to be actually brought about. The attention is kept up
until the end; and furthermore, this interest is not dis-
sipated by those final bursts of applause.
The period of the visit of the Doctor here was oppor-
tune. Various circumstances at that time kept our
academic body, and especially the chief authorities, in
residence. Yet he did not intentionally choose this occa-
sion for his visit; on the contrary he had previously
arranged to go to Lisbon at the same time; but this plan
was frustrated by the malaria then prevailing there. The
Council promptly granted the Senate-House. Dr Whewell,
te
~
Iv INTRODUCTION.
Master of Trinity College, Professor Sedgwick, The
Astronomer Royal, Professor Selwyn, and Dr Bateson,
Master of St John’s College, paid him the most marked
attention, while all received him kindly, and heard him
gladly.
It is desirable to state that I have the full concur-
rence of Dr Livingstone and of Mr Murray, the pub-
lisher of the book of travels, in editing these Lectures.
Both have given me liberty to make such discretionary
use of that book as I may find necessary, in striving to
make this volume as useful as possible. Both approve of
my project and have expressed a desire to forward it. I
thank them for their kindness and confidence; and for
the small map, life, notes, and appendix, I am mainly
indebted to that work. With the same noble generosity
which has characterized Dr Livingstone’s life, he presented
me with the copyright of the lectures revised by himself,
and left me to dispose of any proceeds as I may think
best. Due consideration has led me to decide on de-
voting the entire proceeds ‘of the work as follows :—In
purchasing —
1. Sechuana bibles for Central South Africa.
2. Books for the Library of the ‘“Cameripex
Cuurcu Misstonary Union’.”
1 This is a Society established among the junior members of the
University for the purpose of increasing and sustaining a missionary
spirit among them. It attempts this by means of occasional prayer
and other meetings, a library, and reading-room open daily, and by
promoting Christian and friendly intercourse among its members, I
INTRODUCTION. Vv
3. Books for Dr Livingstone’s ‘‘Campripeer Memo-
RIAL Liprary?.”
The following extracts from his book will give the key
to this attempt at presenting him with a library. It
appears that the Dutch Boers were his active bitter
enemies, for reasons stated at p. v1.
“«The Boers, encouraged by the accession of Mr
Pretorius, determined at last to put a stop to English
traders going past Kolobeng, by dispersing the tribe of
Bakwains, and expelling all the missionaries. Sir George
Cathcart proclaimed the independence of the Boers, the
best thing that could have been done had they been
between us and the Caffres. A treaty was entered into
with these Boers; an article for the free passage of Eng-
lishmen to the country beyond, and also another, that no
slavery should be allowed in the independent territory,
were duly inserted, as expressive of the views of Her
Majesty’s government at home. ‘ But what about the
shall be pleased to receive presents of books for both libraries: works
referring to Missions, Missionaries, &c. for the one, and books of
general interest for the other.
1 This library at present comprises about sixty volumes, which have
been presented or promised, by Dr Whewell; Professor Sedgwick ;
Professor Selwyn; Professor Jeremie; Professor Browne; Professor
Miller; Dr Lee, Hartwell Park; Dr Bateson; Rev. R. A. F. Barrett,
Fellow of King’s College; Rev. C. Babington, Fellow of St John’s
College ; Rev. C. Clayton, Fellow and Tutor of Caius College; Rey.
J. E. B. Mayor, Fellow of St J ohn’s College; Rev. T. Field, Fellow of
St John’s College ; R. Potts, Esq., Trinity College; Rev. W. Emery,
Fellow of Corpus Christi College; Rev. 8. B. Sealy; H. Monk, Esq.,
Jesus College; J. A. Scholefield, Esq. ; A Lady, &c., &e.
VI INTRODUCTION.
missionaries?’ inquired the Boers. ‘ You may do as you
please with them,’ is said to have been the answer of the
‘Commissioner. This remark, if uttered at all, was pro-
bably made in joke: designing men, however, circulated
it, and caused the general belief in its accuracy which
now prevails all over the country, and doubtless led to
the destruction of three mission stations immediately
after. The Boers, four hundred in number, were sent by
the late Mr Pretorius to attack the Bakwains in 1852.
Boasting that the English had given up all the blacks
into their power, and had agreed to aid them in their
subjugation by preventing all supplies of ammunition
from coming into the Bechuana country, they assaulted
the Bakwains, and, besides killing a considerable number
of adults, carried off two hundred of our school-children
into slavery. The natives under Sechele defended them-
selves till the approach of night enabled them to flee to
the mountains; and having in that defence killed a num-
ber of the enemy, the very first ever slain in this country,
by Bechuanas, I received the credit of having taught the
tribe to kill Boers! My house, which had stood perfectly
secure for years under the protection of the natives, was
plundered in revenge. English gentlemen, who had come
in the footsteps of Mr Cumming to hunt in the country
beyond, and had deposited large quantities of stores in
the same keeping, and upwards of eighty head of cattle
as relays for the return journeys, were robbed of all;
and when they came back to Kolobeng found the skele-
INTRODUCTION. Vit
tons of the guardians strewed all over the place. The
books of a good library—my solace in our solitude—were
not taken away, but handfuls of the leaves were torn out
and scattered over the place. My stock of medicines was
smashed ; and all our furniture and clothing carried off
and sold at public auction to pay the expenses of the
foray.
‘“‘] do not mention these things by way of making a
pitiful wail over my losses, nor in order to excite com-
miseration; for though I do feel sorry for the loss of
lexicons, dictionaries, &c., which had been the com-
panions of my boyhood, yet, after all, the plundering only
set me entirely free for my expedition to the north, and
I have never since had a moment’s concern for anything
I left behind.”
The following letter, written by the Chief Sechele!,
to Mr Moffat, describes the above transactions, and is a
touching specimen of native eloquence:
‘“¢ Friend of my heart’s love, and of all the confidence
of my heart, I am Sechele; I am undone by the Boers,
who attacked me, though I had no guilt with them.
They demanded that I should be in their kingdom, and
I refused; they demanded that I should prevent the
English and Griquas from passing (northwards). I re-
plied, These are my friends, and I can prevent no one
(of them). They came on Saturday, and I besought
them not to fight on Sunday, and they assented. They
1 For an account of this chief, see note, p. 4.
VIII INTRODUCTION.
began on Monday morning at twilight, and fired with all
their might, and burned the town with fire, and scattered
us. They killed sixty of my people, and captured women,
and children, and men. And the mother of Baleriling
(a former wife of Sechele) they also took prisoner. They
took all the cattle and all the goods of the Bakwains;
and the house of Livingstone they plundered, taking
away all his goods. The number of waggons they had
was eighty-five, and a cannon; and after they had stolen
my own waggon and that of Macabe, then the number of
their waggons (counting the cannon as one) was eighty-
eight. All the goods of the hunters (certain English
gentlemen hunting and exploring in the north) were
burned in the town; and of the Boers were killed twenty-
eight. Yes, my beloved friend, now my wife goes to see
the children, and Kobus Hae will convey her to you.
‘| am, SEcHELE,
‘The Son of Mochoasele.”
A strong reason for giving publicity to this design for
trying to obtain Bibles and the two libraries, is in order
that I might hereby possibly forward objects so desirable.
in the one case the advocates and helpers of Christian
missions to the heathen, and in the other the friends
and admirers of Dr Livingstone, may be the more in-
duced to circulate this book. It must, however, be kept
in mind, that the lectures themselves possess enough
intrinsic merit to ensure and deserve a wide circulation.
Giving as they do an outline of the main features of the
INTRODUCTION. Ix
large work, they are well adapted for Parochial, School
and Cottagers’ Libraries, as well as for circulation
| through the medium of Free Libraries, Mechanic Insti-
tutions, Book-Hawking Societies, &c. The affluent, who
have both opportunity and leisure for reading the book
of travels, can, at a small price, gratify and inform the
poor on one of the most interesting and important topics
of the day, by placing this little book in their hands.
In truth, many persons whose time and energies are too
much occupied for reading large books in general, can
hence gain an outline of our traveller’s great achieve-
ments, and, in the main, hear him tell his own story.
At all risk of compromising the desirable character
of being regarded as a judicious editor, I have designedly
kept prominent the important object of meeting a great
public want by making this book a complete manual of
the central South African question in all its bearings.
An attentive perusal of this volume will give the ordi-
nary reader a concise but entire view of this interesting
topic.
I have been encouraged to take this course in having
my own judgement fortified by the advice of literary
friends. If I have erred, I have knowingly sacrificed my-
self for the good of others.
Although our traveller actually speaks verbally in but
a small part of this book, still in fact and substance it is
mainly as essentially his as though he had dictated or
written its pages.
x INRODUCTION.
I return my thanks to the President (Sir R. T. Mur-
chison) and Council of the Royal Geographical Society,
for the kind interest which they have taken in this book : |
especially for allowing me to quote Dr Livingstone’s un-
published letters, addressed to Sir R. I. Murchison from
Africa during the progress of his journeys; and for the
great favour shewn in granting copies of Mr Arrowsmith’s
valuable map of the route across the continent, for this
publication.
To Dr Norton Shaw, Secretary to the above Society,
I express my thanks both for the interest taken in, and
the information contributed for, this work.
To the Rev. Professor Sedgwick I express my deep
obligations, for labouring so successfully beneath a weight
of years, and despite continued sickness, in writing the
accompanying prefatory letter, the completeness and value
of which can only really be appreciated by those persons
who have carefully studied the book of Travels. This
eloquent letter is a complete digest of the narrative of
the two great journeys; it will be observed to contain a
few parallelisms with some passages in the lectures, life,
and appendix—resulting from writing entirely independ-
ently—but it is thought better to let them remain.
To Dr Lee, of Hartwell Park, Buckinghamshire; and
to the Rev. Professor Browne, for revising the whole
proofs ;—to the Rev. I’. Gell, B.D. Fellow of Christ’s Col-
lege, and other friends for reviewing the MSS.; and to
the Secretaries of the Society for the Propagation of the
INTRODUCTION. xI
Gospel in Foreign Parts,—of the Church and London
Missionary Societies for information given,—I return my
most grateful thanks.
I herein also acknowledge the kind courtesy of the
editor and reporters of the Cambridge Chronicle, for
the trouble and interest which they have taken in
order to secure accurate and extended reports of these
lectures, which have been further corrected and en-
larged by Dr Livingstone himself, and by reference
to the report of the Independent Press, as well as by
comparison with the corresponding passages in the book
of travels. To the editor and reporters of the latter paper
I have also to return thanks for readily endeavouring to
secure careful reports.
The portrait and small map are the production of Mr
Vinter, of London, an artist eminent in his profession;
the portrait! is based on the photograph taken by Mr
Monson, of Cambridge, modified by a sitting given to
Mr Vinter by Dr Livingstone.
In explanation of the long delay which has occurred
in publishing this book, I have to state that this has been
somewhat caused by the every day interruptions insepa-
rable from a clergyman’s life in a large parish in a populous
town; and by the close perusal of several books, and of the
1 Copies of this portrait, published by Mr Wallis, Sidney Street,
Cambridge, can be obtained on India paper, 4to imperial, for framing,
at a small price ; the profits of this also will be devoted to the before-
mentioned objects.
XII INTRODUCTION.
book of travels three times over, in order to obtain these
materials; but chiefly through the illnesses before referred
to, of Professor Sedgwick. Surely real interest in matters
so absorbing and vitally important in most respects,
cannot have in the mean time waned. This delay has
been very beneficial, since I have hereby gained some
valuable contributions to the work, of various kinds. It
is obvious, on comparing the excellency of the type, &c.
in this book, with its small price, that a large circula-
tion alone will help forward the two libraries. This
smallness of price is intended to meet the wants and
means of the many.
For my own part, whatever trouble or anxiety may
have fallen to my lot, in connection with these deeply
interesting matters, will be amply repaid by any small
amount of good thereby produced. This matter I pray-
erfully leave in the hands of our gracious Lord, who
doeth, giveth, and receiveth that which seemeth him best;
resting content with that command generally given, ‘“ IN
THE MORNING SOW THY SEED, AND IN THE EVENING
WITHHOLD NOT THINE HAND; FOR THOU KNOWEST NOT
WHICH SHALL PROSPER, WHETHER THIS OR THAT.”
WILLIAM MONK.
AUBREY VILLA,
Cambridge, 1st June, 1858.
LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
AVID LIVINGSTONE is a Scotchman, and one whom
his nation may well delight to honour. He is one of
God's true nobility, as is shewn by high resolve, energetic and
successful action, Christian character, and unselfish aim.
The Scottish nation stands out boldly in the history of
great achievement; especially in Travel. Here is a golden
chain of names eminent in exploration: Mungo Park, Bruce,
Buchanan, Moffat, Livingstone. The last the greatest of all.
It appears from his own statement, that his great grandfather
fought at Culloden, and that his grandfather was a small
farmer at Ulva, one of the cluster of the Hebrides. Like
Sir Walter Scott, Burns, and others, his mind, in childhood
and youth, was much influenced by the Gaelic and Scottish
legends of years bye-gone. His grandfather could recount
the lives of his forefathers for six generations, who it appears
were remarkable for uprightness of character. One of them,
on his death-bed, charged his family with a remembrance of
this fact, and left them the motto for practical application,
“BE HONEST.” This motto has doubtless influenced Dr
+
XIV LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
Livingstone’s own character ; for he is ever desirous to appear
himself, and to place all else with which he has to do, in a
truthful unadorned light. His grandfather removed from his
farm at Ulva to the Blantyre Cotton Works, near Glasgow,
where he and his sons found employment. Dr Livingstone’s
father alone remained at home, and gained an honest liveli-
hood as a small tea-dealer; the others all became either
soldiers or sailors in His Majesty’s Service during the late
French war. All parents may well learn wisdom by the
example and influences exercised by those of the Doctor on
himself. Hear what he says of his father especially :—“‘ He
deserved my lasting gratitude and homage for presenting me
from infancy with a continuously consistent pious example,
such as that the ideal of which is so beautifully and
truthfully portrayed in Burns’ ‘ Cotter’s Saturday Night.’
He died in February 1856, in peaceful hope of that mercy
which we all expect through the death of our Lord and
Saviour: I was.at the time on my way below Zumbo,
expecting no greater pleasure in this country than sitting
by our cottage-fire, and telling him my travels. I revere his
memory.”
Dr Livingstone became a “ piecer” in the factory at the
age of 10. Now notice an instance of “the boy being the
father of the man.” With part of his first week’s wages he
bought Ruddiman’s “ Rudiments of Latin,” and studied this
language afterwards at night for a long time. In this dis-
advantageous manner he made steady progress. Surely
hereby many a poor aspiring student, who is perchance
engaged in “the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties,”
may take courage, and keep in mind the end achieved by this
EARLY STUDIES. XV
truly great man. On the other hand, the idle unprincipled
student, who for years may have wasted his precious intel-
lectual substance in riotous living; who deserves not the
name of Student, but who has spurned the high gifts of
talent, teaching, and opportunity, as being of nothing worth;
and who, as a consequence, begins when too late to feel
within himself the degrading impotency of a blighted mind,
together with the dark forebodings of a soul unblest—such
an one must feel miserable and condemned, in pondering
the noble issue of an early struggle such as this—an issue
which compresses the ordinary doings of an age isolated by
long periods before, and possibly by wider eras, after its
dawn, into the short life of one self-denying, self-dependent,
God-fearing man.
The dictionary part of his labours he pursued till 12 or
later at night, returning to the factory at 6 a.m., and staying
till 8 p.m.
Like many others of his mould, he was a great reader
in his youthful days. Scientific works and books of travel
were his especial delight. After much anxious inquiry he
found comfort in ascertaining the fact that true Scrence and
philosophy are not the foes, but the handmaids of religion.
We have now to dwell on the greatest personal event which
can happen in his, and in every other man’s life, viz. The irwe
conversion of the soul to God. What this is, we are
told in that memorable conversation held at night by
Christ with Nicodemus. By it we have new hearts, new
desires and affections, and renewed souls, given us. The
Holy Ghost makes us new creatures; old things have passed
away, and behold all things have become new. Although
XVI LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
_ Dr Livingstone, and others eminent in various walks of
life, have honourably graven their own names on the
scroll of time, for earthly observation, still to have the
name written in Heaven is an object of unspeakably higher
aim. It is far better than the proudest record of earthly
deeds, whether preserved on monumental brass, or living
rock, or sculptured stone. The obelisk, statue, triumphal
arch, or even pyramid, is nothing to it. Hear the account
briefly given of his own conversion.
“‘ Great pains had been taken by my parents to instil the
doctrines of Christianity into my mind, and I had no difficulty
in understanding the theory of our free salvation by the
atonement of our Saviour, but it was only about this time
that I really began to feel the necessity and value of a per-=
sonal application of the provisions of that atonement to my
own case. The change was like what may be supposed would
take place were it possible to cure a case of ‘colour blind-
ness. ‘The perfect freeness with which the pardon of all our
guilt is offered in God’s book drew forth feelings of affectionate
love to Him who bought us with His blood, and a sense of
deep obligation to Him for his mercy has influenced, in some
small measure, my conduct ever since.”
In the spirit which real Christianity inspires in the soul
of the true convert, he dedicated his life henceforth to the
alleviation of human misery, like Howard and Wilberforce ;
but more especially, after the example of the first disciples,
he resolved to strive to make known Christ the ‘‘ Chief Good,”
sought but not found by philosophy of old, in regions where
the Gospel had not yet been preached. Towards China he
turned his thoughts. There was true heroism in this resolve,
MISSIONARY PREPARATION. XVII
for China of all others was perhaps the most difficult field
of missionary enterprise, and is so now. Again do we learn
a lesson from his practical mind. He immediately studied
and obtained a degree in medicine; a course which helped
him much in all respects in Africa’. He now unwittingly pre-
pared himself for these African journeys, in botany, geology,
other natural sciences, and pedestrianism, by making excursions
in Scotland. The advantage of this training is obvious in
the book of Travels, since his references to these departments
of knowledge are so accurate and valuable. Yet there is
something striking about this adaptation of means to an end.
This preparation was not like that of Mungo Park, made
with especial reference to Africa. His views now, as we
have seen, were not thither, but China-ward. He was
preparing himself for his work, but knew it not. Such was
Cranmer’s case in making himself “the Scripturist ” here at
Cambridge. Such has been the case with thousands of others,
and possibly is so now with some who read this book. You
want to know your work, but as yet do not. Wait!
follow, and do not go before the providence of God; make
the best of present opportunities. That work will be made
1 It appears to be commonly agreed among travellers, and espe-
cially missionaries, that a knowledge and practice of medicine is in-
valuable to any one dwelling or travelling among uncivilized people.
This is a hint to be taken and acted on by those who contemplate such
courses of life. The many evidences given in Dr Livingstone’s book
of his professional usefulness, and consequent acceptableness, among
the heathen, as well as the valuable information afforded to ourselves
on medical and botanical topics, confirm this view. These remarks
apply to hosts of other travellers and missionaries whose experience in
this respect is recorded.
2
XVULI LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
plain, if you are prayerful and earnest aboutit. These excur-
sions are amusingly referred to in page 5.
The following traits of character are brought out in the book
of Travels:—The valuable power of total abstraction of mind
amid surrounding noises; intense independence of character in
entirely supporting himself by labour while attending the medi-
cal and Greek classes, and divinity lectures at the University of
Glasgow; and great endurance, arising from a life of early toil.
The life of Dr Livingstone affords a remarkable illustra-
tion of God’s superintending providence. If ever the doctrine
of a particular providence were clearly proven by the tes-
timony of human experience, as corroborative of Scripture,
surely this life completely does this; so much so, that I pro-
pose deliberately to be guilty of some anachronisms, by
bringing together certain episodes in his experience occurring
at different times. It is best to trace God’s hand whenever
we can; and to shew “chance” and “change” to be only
other words for “providence.” With general providence
we do not now concern ourselves: this is well summed up
in that passage, ‘‘He maketh the sun to shine on the just
and on the unjust.” See God’s particular providence as set
forth in the following occurrences. Just as our traveller is
about to proceed to China, the Opium War breaks out: “ Man
deviseth his way, but God directeth his steps.” Had he gone
to China, who would have opened up Central Africa? In
consequence of this frustration of his Chinese plans, he turns
his thoughts to Africa, and in time proceeds thither. “Here
is one instance: turn attention to another.
While at Kuruman his waggon-wheel breaks, and he is
vexatiously detained there a fortnight instead of returning to his
GODS PROVIDENCE ILLUSTRATED. XIX
station among the Bakwains*. During this time the attack
is made on Sechele, and Dr Livingstone’s property destroyed,
as detailed at page vi. of the Introduction. We may con-
clude almost positively that the Boers would have killed
him, since they hated him with so cordial a hatred. Ponder
another instance.
He has just compassed his ardent purpose of visiting
Sebituane*. This done, he proposes to settle with him. The
chief is quite as desirous for such a settlement as he. No.
“To every man his work.” ‘The chief’s is done: he dies.
Our traveller's plan of settlement is set aside; once more
he is a wanderer, and soon afterwards in company with
Mr Oswell discovers the Zambesi, a full deep flowing river
as broad as the Thames at London bridge, 1500 miles inland.
Again, when at Linyanti he deliberates, like Abraham
and Lot, whether he shall turn to the nght hand or to the
left. He knows himself to be in central South Africa, and
that the ocean is on both hands to the East and the West.
We may try to picture him in our mind’s eye, thousands of
miles away from European civilization, in the midst of
African barbarism. God watches him there; not a hair
of his head shall be injured. By faith only is he able to
know this; sense and sight never can divine what a day
may bring forth; faith trusts and hopes. He deliberates
anxiously and prayerfully, then tries first to find a path to the
sea towards the West. It turns out in the event, after going
first from Linyanti to the West, and then from Loanda back
again across the continent almost to the Eastern Coast, that
had he first gone to the East he must inevitably have
1 See Travels, p. 118. 2 Ibid. p. 89.
2—2
xXx LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
been cut off in the war then raging between some hostile
native tribes and the Portuguese, which was over when he
got there, after having gone to the West. Once more.
When at Loanda, he falls in with several of Her Majesty’s
cruisers'. In these he has an opportunity of returning to
England: his ill health seemed imperatively to demand this.
Moreover, the entreaties of officers and men, desire of visit-
ing home, and especially of meeting those whom nature and
affection drew nearest to him, all powerfully impel him to
embark. But no; with him, as with all noble-minded men,
duty and honour stand first. He is bound to return to Sekeletu;
and also to provide for the safety of the faithful companions
of his perilous pilgrimage. This is not all. The great work
of opening up Africa is, not accomplished. He may be
sick in body, and more sick at heart, as he turns his back
upon the ocean, but is inflexible, and sends his journal,
letters, &c. on board the Forerunner, and apparently goes
from comparative safety to certain destruction. Not so: that
ship, with nearly every person on board, was lost. That man
accomplished his journey and his object, and has just left
his native country nerved and prepared for encountering new
dangers, and we may reasonably hope destined to achieve new
and more splendid successes.
There is something so striking in these occurrences, that
their being thus brought together is of more consequence than
a strict adherence to chronological order. The object of sending
a book into the world should be not alone to amuse, or even
instruct, after one stereotyped fashion, but to cause the reader
to rise from its perusal a BETTER MAN.
1 p. 396, &c.
MISSIONARY LABOURS. XXI
We now resume the thread of his life. His first mission-
ary Station was at Kuruman in the Bechuana country, about
700 miles from Cape Town. In 1844, he here married
the eldest daughter of Mr Moffat, the well-known African
missionary and traveller, by whom he has four children. The
following quotation from his book will give in his own
words a concise outline of his life from 1840 till his return
home :—
“Tf the reader bears in mind that from 1840 to 1845
I was employed in preparatory labours and associated with
other missionaries at Kuruman and Mabotsa ; then from 1845
to 1849 continued to work at Chonuane and Kolobeng, aided
only by Mrs Livingstone and two native teachers; that in
1849 the journey to discover Lake Ngami was undertaken ;
and that in the following pages a sketch of our labours at
Kolobeng is given, as well as an account of the journey to
Lake Ngami, and finally the last great journey which occupied
the years 1852-6 detailed,—he will have a clear idea of the
arrangement of this book. Speaking generally, I have spent
sixteen years of my life, namely, from 1840 to 1856, in medi-
cal and missionary labours in Africa without cost to the
inhabitants.”
It is impossible to overrate his gigantic labours as a
traveller. The British character is eminently marked by
hardihood, endurance and perseverance. The same spirit
sent the Pilgrim Fathers to America, prompted the at-
tempt to find a north-west passage round that Continent,
traversed the South Pacific, conquered. India, colonized
Australia, and now crosses Africa. These qualifications,
combined with high intellect, have made the Briton a pioneer
XXII LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
in almost every department of social, national, intellectual,
moral and religious progress. No one can say that such is
not the case in South Central Africa. An examination of the
route delineated on the map will shew that Dr Livingstone
has travelled in that country almost eleven thousand miles.
Under what circumstances? read his book and you will
see. Now prostrate with fever, overcome with fatigue, beset
with difficulties, and tried by untoward events. One day,
untutored companions have to be managed, savage tribes
propitiated ; and another, trackless forests must be threaded,
bridgeless rivers, swamps and prairie lands crossed, and
dangers on all hands overcome. Nearly every day subsist-
ence had to be obtained by hunting, or received as presents
from the natives. His most usual way of travelling was in a
waggon, walking, in canoes, or on ox-back. The ox Sinbad is
rather a celebrity in the book: he carried our traveller all the
way from Linyanti to Loanda, and back again. Women were
generally kind. The Bushmen were cordial, but occasionally
somewhat cold; as well as the Bechuanas. He received
unkindness and insolence from the Boers; unvarying hos-
pitality and confidence among the Makololo; general kindness
among the Balonda; and decided hostility among the slave-
dealing tribes, and along the slave-dealers’ trail.
Professor Sedgwick’s letter gives a complete account of the
two great journeys. The book of travels alone gives the detail
of these. It is a book which, for its literary merit, new and
valuable information, candour, uprightness, and Christian spirit,
must commend itself and be commended. Therein the inci-
dents of the first journey, from 1840—52, are to be found in
pp. 1—93; and those of the second from 1854—6, from p. 94
HIS JOURNEYS—RETURN HOME. XXIII
to the end. The last journey necessarily occupies most of the
book, and absorbs public attention, since during its progress
the great discoveries were made of so much consequence to
Africa and the world. Preparatory to this, he sent his family
home to England from Cape Town. This journey extended
from the southern extremity of the Continent to St Paul
de Loanda, the capital of Angola on the West coast, and
thence across South Central Africa in an oblique direction to
Quillimane in Eastern Africa*. On his arrival at Teté, the
most inland settlement of the Portuguese, he left there 113 of
his native attendants lent to him by Sekeletu, and_pro-
ceeded down the Zambesi to Quillimane; thence, on the
12th of July, he set sail in Her Majesty’s brig “ Frolic,”
for the Mauritius, accompanied by Sekwebu?, his native
interpreter, where he arrived on the 12th of August. He
staid here with Major-General C. M. Hay until November,
and then came home by way of the Red Sea, arriving in
England on the 12th of December, 1856.
His residence at home has been gratifying both to
him and to the public at large; and has been usefully
spent. He wisely determined on preparing and publishing
his book before making any public appearances. To com-
mit to paper so valuable a mass of information in a manner
intelligible to all was a matter of first importance ; accident,
sickness, or death might have prevented him. He has lectured
many times in public, and has been enthusiastically received.
Societies have elected him an honorary member of their
bodies; towns and cities have presented him with their
1 Travels, p. 94.
2 See an account of the death of Sekwebu, note, p- 14.
XXIV LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
freedom; and many are the substantial presents which
he has received. The government lately appointed him
British Consul for Teté, Senna, and Quillimane. One
graceful act performed towards him by Her Majesty, on
the day of the banquet about to be referred to, is of more
consequence, in connexion with the success of his expedition,
than many are aware of, viz. that of giving him an audi-
ence. He never could well satisfy the minds of the natives
on the score of not having seen and conversed with his
chief: which every African expects, and is expected, at some
time of his life to do. Now that difficulty is removed.
Great success and applause turn the brains of some per-
sons; not so with our traveller. With all this well-deserved
honour, he still remains the kind, quiet, communicative David
Livingstone, the man of purpose, the man of energy, the man
of decisive action, and the man of prayer and humble depend-
ence on his God ; the man who is a study for other men.
We now turn attention to his future plans. Since we
have set out with the purpose of hearing him, as much as
possible, speak for himself, we cannot do better than listen to
his own statement of these plans, made at the banquet given
on the 13th of February, 18581, under the auspices of the
Royal Geographical Society. More than 300 gentlemen,
comprising names well known, and most illustrious in rank,
science and art, assembled on this occasion to do him honor.
Among these were Sir R. I. Murchison, in the chair; the
Ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, many noble-
men; and some ladies who witnessed the proceedings and
heard the speeches from the gallery.
* This speech is quoted from the Times of the following Monday.
FAREWELL BANQUET. XXV
** When I was in Africa I could not but look forward with
joyous anticipation to my arrival in my native land; but
when I remember how I have been received, and when I
reflect that I am now again returning to the scene of my
former labours, I am at a loss how to express in words the
feelings of my heart. In former times, while I was perform-
ing what I considered to be my duty in Africa, I felt
great pleasure in the work; and now, when I perceive that
all eyes are directed to my future conduct, I feel as if I were
laid under a load of obligation to do better than I have
ever done as yet. I expect to find for myself no large
fortune in that country, nor do I expect to explore any large
portions of a new country, but I do hope to find through
that part of the country which I have already explored, a
pathway by means of the river Zambesi which may lead to
highlands where Europeans may form a settlement, and where
by opening up communication and establishing commercial
intercourse with the natives of Africa, they may slowly, but
not the less surely, impart to the people of that country the
knowledge and the inestimable blessings of Christianity.
Iam glad to have connected with me in this expedition my
gallant friend Captain Bedingfield, who knows not only what
African rivers are, but also what are African fevers. With
his aid I may be able to discover the principles of the river
system of that great continent, and if I find that system to be
what I think it is, I propose to establish a depot upon the
Zambesi, and from that station more especially to examine
into that river system, which, according to the statements
of the natives, if discovered, would afford a pathway to the
country beyond, where cotton, indigo, and other raw material
might be obtained to any amount.
XXVI LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
I am happy also in being accompanied by men experienced
in geology, in botany, in art, and in photography, who will
bring back to England reports upon all those points, which I
alone have attempted to deal with, and with very little means
at my disposal.
The success—if I may call it success—which has attended
my former efforts to open up the country mainly depended upon
my entering into the feelings and the wishes of the people of
the interior of Africa. I found that the tribes in the interior
of that country were just as anxious to have a part of the
seaboard as I was to open a communication with the interior,
and I am quite certain of obtaining the co-operation of those
tribes in my next expedition. Should I succeed in my en-
deavour, should we be able to open a communication advan-
tageous to ourselves with the natives of the interior of Africa,
it would be our great duty to confer upon them those great
benefits of Christianity which have been bestowed upon
ourselves. Let us not make the same mistake in Africa that
we have made in India, but let us take to that country our
Christianity with us.
I confess that I am not sanguine enough to hope for any
speedy result from this expedition, but I am sanguine as to its
ultimate result. I feel convinced that if we can establish a
system of free labour in Africa, it will have a most decided
influence upon slavery throughout the world. Success, how-
ever, under Providence, depends upon us as Englishmen. I
look upon Englishmen as perhaps the most freedom-loving
people in the world, and I think that the kindly feeling
which has been displayed towards me since my return to my
native land has arisen from the belief that my efforts might
at some future time tend to put an end to the odious traffic in
FAREWELL SPEECH. XXVII
slaves. England has, unfortunately, been compelled to obtain
cotton and other raw material from slave States, and has thus
been the mainstay and support of Slavery in America. Surely,
then, it follows that if we can succeed in obtaining the raw
material from other sources than from the slave States of
America we should strike a heavy blow at the system of
slavery itself.
I do not wish to arouse expectations in connexion with
this expedition which may never be realized, but what I want
to do is to get in the thin end of the wedge, and then I leave
it to be driven home by English energy and English spirit.
I cannot express to you in adequate language the sense
which I entertain of the kindness which I have received since
my return to this country, but I can assure you that I shall
ever retain a grateful recollection of the way you have received
me on the eve of my departure from my native land.
Reference has been made in language most kind to Mrs
Livingstone. Now, it is scarcely fair to ask a man to praise
his own wife, but I can only say that when I left her at the
Cape, telling her that [ should return in two years, and when
it happened that I was absent four years and a half, I supposed
that I should appear before her with a damaged character. I
was, however, forgiven. My wife will accompany me in this
expedition, and I believe will be most useful to me. She is
familiar with the languages of South Africa, she is able to
work, she is willing to endure, and she well knows that in
that country one must put one’s hand to everything. In
the country to which I am about to proceed she knows
that the wife must be the maid-of-all-work within while
the husband must be the jack-of-all-trades without, and
XXVIII LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
glad am I indeed that I am to be accompanied by my
guardian angel. Allow me now to say just one word in
reference to our chairman; let me just tell you that I found
a few days back an abstract from an address which he
delivered to the Geographical Society in 1852, and which
he had the assurance to send to me. In that address my
distinguished friend foreshadowed a great portion of those
discoveries which I subsequently made, and all I can now
say is that I hope he will not do the same thing again.”
This characteristic speech gives a complete account of our
traveller’s future plans in Africa.
As it regards the expedition which has just sailed from
our shores, it is a very complete one.
Her Majesty’s Government has granted £5000 wherewith
to defray its expenses. The proposal for this grant was
enthusiastically received in the House of Commons; Lord
Clarendon has been particularly solicitous about Dr Living-
stone’s welfare and future success.
The President, Council, and members of the Royal Geo-
graphical Society have been active in assisting this expedi-
tion. At a crowded meeting held early in January at Bur-
lington House, Sir R. I. Murchison in the chair, a communi-
cation was made to the meeting, by the desire of Lord
Clarendon, expressing a wish that the Council would submit
to the Foreign-office suggestions with reference to the expedi-
tion. Dr Livingstone had explained to the Council his own
plan of operations, and had laid before it the names of those
whom he proposed should accompany him: and a resolution
had been passed, expressing their entire approbation of his
project.
THE NEW EXPEDITION. XXIX
His associates are Commander Bedingfield, R.N., well
known for his exploration of the Congo and other African
rivers; Dr Kirk, M.D., of Edinburgh, and botanist; Mr R.
Thornton, of the School of Mines, as mining geologist; Mr
T. Baines, as artist, for which position he is well qualified
by his previous experience in Africa, and his travels in
North Australia; Mr Rae, as engineer of the launch; and
Dr Livingstone’s brother, who will take charge of the estab-
lishment which it is proposed to fix for a time at the conflu-
ence of one of the tributaries of the Zambesi.
In consequence of the unhealthiness of the delta of the
Zambesi, for about 250 miles below Teté, the Council ex-
pressed a wish that the expedition should be conveyed to Teté
in a decked steam-vessel, of light draught, and that the steam
launch should only carry them on from that point, or above
Teté.
These plans as far as possible will be carried out.
A beautiful iron steam launch was constructed by Mr John
Macgregor Laird, at his Birkenhead Works, by order of the
government, for the purposes of the expedition. This vessel
is 79 feet long, 8 broad, and 3 deep; being in the shape of a
large flat-bottomed canoe, having both ends alike, and covered
in with awnings. Her hull is made in three compact water-
tight sections, with a curved keel; the draught of water being
only 14 inches},
The expedition set sail from Liverpool, on Wednesday
10th of March, on board the screw steam-ship Pearl, under
1 There is an admirable lithograph of this launch published by
Mr S. Walters, Liverpool: as also a description and wood-cut of it in
the Illustrated News, of March 6th ult.
#
XXX LIFE OF DR LIVINGSTONE.
the command of Captain Bedingfield, the launch being taken
on board in three pieces.
The Pearl will take them as far as possible up the Zambesi,
and then leave them to God’s merciful Providence and to their
own resources.
In a letter dated Sierra Leone, 30th March, addressed to
Sir R. I. Murchison, Dr Livingstone speaks cheerfully of the
well-being and happy prospects of the whole party; stating
that they were going on immediately to the Cape.
We have now brought this Memoir up to the present
moment. Surely the prayers of multitudes will ascend to
God for the success of this undertaking. True philanthropy,
the advancement of science, and the opening up of Africa to
Commerce and Christianity are its avowed and real objects;
what can be nobler? This little book finds its way into the
world, just after our traveller and his companions have
departed from their native shores on this mission. God only
knows the result, and He doeth all things well. If they ever
return to this country, the editor of this book as well as
many who read it may be silent in the grave. While we
wish for Dr Livingstone and his companions Gop Speen,
and pray for success and temporal and eternal blessings for
AuL; let us, in remembering our latter end, “strive to enter in
at the strait gate,” in the prayerful hope of meeting them
and many Central Africans around God’s throne in heaven.
THERE IS PEACE, THERE IS HAPPINESS, there ‘“‘ THE WICKED
CEASE FROM TROUBLING, AND THE WEARY ARE AT REST.”
PREFATORY LETTER
BY
THE REV. ADAM SEDGWICK, M.A., F.R.S.
VICE-MASTER OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
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Trinity CoLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
March 16, 1858.
My Dear Sir,
A Frew days after Dr Livingstone’s visit to Cam-
bridge, you informed me that you were about to publish the
Reports of the two Addresses he had made (in the Senate-
House and Town-Hall), with some notes and explanatory
matter of your own. At the same time you asked me to
write an account of what took place in our Senate-House, on
the occasion of his Address to the University, with any com-
ments I might think fit to offer for the use of your little
Volume. I promised to comply with your request; for you
told me that by so doing I should gratify my honoured friend
Dr Livingstone: but my prefatory letter, I added, must be
short; as I disclaimed all purpose of writing a formal review
of Dr Livingstone’s labours. I should indeed have thought
such a task delightful, had I possessed health and leisure for
its performance; but I had neither the one nor the other.
Three months have passed away since you first spoke
to me of your intended publication. The delay cannot be
a cause of regret to you if it has enabled you to improve
the matter of your work. For your subject is not one of
a momentary and local interest; but is connected with the
advance of physical knowledge; and, under God’s blessing,
with the progress of humanity and Christian truth. You
now tell me that, with the exception of a few pages, your
work is all in type; and you again claim my promise. I
ought to be ashamed of my long delay were I not able to
reply, that, after the duties of the Michaelmas term were
ended, my health for many weeks was in a state which made
3
il PREFATORY LETTER.
the simple task of writing such a letter as this almost im-
possible.
It may seem incongruous that I should write a preface to
a work with which (excepting the two newspaper Reports) I
am still unacquainted. But on this score, after my conversa-
tions with yourself, I think that I am quite secure from
blame. As to the baleful misery and deadly sin wrought by
the slave-dealer in Africa, your opinions do not differ from
those I have been taught to hold from the days of my
childhood. If you hope, in however humble a degree, to
make Dr Livingstone’s great labours and discoveries more
widely known—to forward (by a direct appeal to what he has
done) the great and good cause of civilization, brotherly love,
and Christian truth—and to encourage the Missionary of the
Gospel in carrying the message of peace to poor benighted
Africa ;—in all such hopes you have the heartfelt sympathy
of many a fellow-Christian who will wish God speed to your
little Volume.
Dr Livingstone, if I mistake not, came to Cambridge
as your guest, on Monday, December the 3rd. The next
morning he addressed, in the Senate-house, a very large
audience composed of the resident Graduates and Under-
graduates of the University, and of many visitors from the
Town and neighbourhood. Under the sanction of a Grace
of the Senate this building had been hastily prepared for
his reception by an order of the Vice-Chancellor, who pre-
sided at the Meeting. On the same day he dined in the
Hall of Trinity College, when the Master presided; and
he rested for the night at the Master's Lodge. The day
following (Dec. 5th), with the sanction of the Mayor and
Corporation, he addressed a very crowded audience in the
Town Hall; and he afterwards dined a second time in the
Hall of Trinity College. In the course of the same evening he
took leave of us, to our great sorrow; some of us believing that
we should never see his face again.
PREFATORY LETTER. lil
In the long period of my academic life I have many times
been present in our Senate-House, on occasions of joyful excite-
ment. The few amongst us who remember the early years o1
this century cannot now forget the thoughts which filled the
national heart, if not with fear, at least with sorrow and deep
anxiety: for England saw nation after nation falling before
the sword of the first Napoleon; till at length she stood alone
with all the great powers of Europe combined in league
against her. But a brighter season followed. Europe regained
its freedom from military domination; and England, with
her institutions safe and her soil inviolate, seemed to stand on
a pinnacle of glory.
Again and again, I have seen those good stout-hearted men
who, under God, had helped to work out the deliverance of
Europe from military servitude, greeted in the Senate-House
with our loudest acclamations. J have been present at four
Installation Festivals; when we met to do honour to the good
men whom by our free votes we had placed at the head of the
University. All these were occasions of honest and great
excitement.
The last installation festival was graced and honoured by
the presence of our Sovereign. To her was due the first
homage of the University ; and it was given by us not grudg-
ingly, but with a loyalty that carried us almost beyond our-
selves, and drew from us the most fervent gratulations that
affectionate and grateful subjects are permitted to exhibit in
the presence of their Sovereign. Nor did we, during that
season of loyalty and joy, forget our youthful Chancellor, or
abate one jot of the honour due to him. We greeted him as
one placed by our free choice in the highest Office of the
University; as the Consort of our Queen; as the Father of the
future Sovereign of England; as a man well trained in academic
learning, to whose wisdom we might look for counsel in any
times of difficulty, and to whose eloquence and influence we
might look for protection in an hour of danger.
3—2
~
Wi PREFATORY LETTER.
On none of the public festivals, to which I have just
alluded, were the gratulations of the University more honest’
and true-hearted than those which were offered to Dr Living-
stone. He came amongst us without any long notes of pre-
paration, ,without any pageant or eloquence to charm and
captivate our senses. He stood before us—a plain, single-
minded, cheerful man — somewhat attenuated by years of
toil, and with a face tinged by the sun of Africa: and he
addressed us in unadorned and simple words; said nothing
that savoured of self-glory; and when he told us of what he
had done, during the sixteen years that were gone, and what
he hoped, with God’s blessing, to do for the cause of truth
and the good of his fellow-creatures in Africa, in years to come,
he more than once exclaimed in earnest truth, that “che had
made no sacrifice” —that he had but done a duty to which he
had been called by outward circumstances—that he had only
obeyed an impulse which he felt within himself, and had the
sanction of his conscience.
We received him, therefore, as a Christian brother, who
having grappled manfully with great dangers and overcome
them, had returned to his home after long years of absence:
and while we listened to the tale that he had to tell, there arose
in the hearts of all the listeners a fervent hope, that the hand of
God which had so long upheld him would uphold him still,
and help him to carry out the great work of Christian love
that was still before him. In such words as these I believe
that I am truly interpreting the sentiments of the University
the day that they met Dr Livingstone in the Senate-House.
All who that day assembled to meet him, and listen to his
address, had heard something of his early labours; and there
was a smaller number who had then read his Missionary
Travels and Researches in South Africa. We knew that he
was a man of humble birth, and that he had learnt the first
lessons of Christian truth from the teaching and example of
his parents. We knew that, for years of his early life he had
PREFATORY LETTER. v
to gain his daily bread by the labour of his hands—that after
the fatigues of the day, even in his boyhood, he had with
unconquerable energy sought after many fountains of useful
knowledge and drunk of their waters—that he had stolen
from the night the short hours of study the day did not
afford him—that, as he advanced in years, he had learnt to
carry on his studies in moments of time, snatched in the crowd
and toil and din of a manufactory, and amidst interruptions
which, to wills less resolute, would have made any continued
exercise of serious thought impossible. We knew that, as he
improved in manual skill, and gamed higher wages, he set
apart a larger sum for study—that he made good progress in
the classic tongues—that he laid the foundation of sound
knowledge in several important branches of natural science,
and gradually won his way by his own energy, and “ with-
out receiving a farthing’s aid from any one” (and I may add,
not without some hinderances in early life, on the part of
those whom he most loved and honoured),—that he was at
length enabled to attend three important Classes in the Uni-
versity of Glasgow as a regular student, and in the end became
a Licentiate of the Faculty of Physic and Surgery. Such were
the early years of the man who came to address us, after his
labours of love and long wanderings in South Africa.
His boyish studies may have been carried on without any
Jong-sighted visions of what the future had in store for him:
but he never quite forgot those early parental lessons which
contained the good seed of all the fruits of his after life.
There may, during his daily and nightly toils, have been a
short period in which he ran the risk, like many other men,
of forgetting that he was a Christian. But as he advanced in
mature knowledge and grew in stature, he became, through
God’s blessing, more and more, in heart and life and firm
conviction, a good religious man. He became a man of large
benevolence, of firm faith, and of a grand catholicity of spirit.
He believed that all the families upon earth are God’s children,
vi PREFATORY LETTER.
and heirs of His covenanted mercies; that the command to
spread’ the light of the Gospel through all the nations under
heaven had passed downwards on every honest Christian; and
that every son of man who passed under the Christian name
ought to receive the command as delivered to himself, and act
upon it according to the measure of his capacity and the
means that God had placed within his hands.
Nor were his views of natural knowledge less wide and
generous. For he believed, with unshaken faith, in the ruling
providence of God—the Creator of all worlds and of the laws
whereby they are upheld: and, hence, he also believed, that
all true natural and material knowledge is but a knowledge of
one portion of the will of our Creator embodied in His works.
Hence, also, he practically believed. that no parts of true
knowledge, whether sacred or profane, can, when rightly
used, ever be in mutual antagonism: nay, rather, that con-
sidered as a whole, they are at once the manifestation of our
Maker’s glory and implements of good to our fellow-men.
With a faith like this acting on a brave heart; with the free
spirit of an honest Christian; with good stores of knowledge
which he longed to spread among his ignorant and suffering
fellow-creatures ; with a benevolence and love that made his
heart yearn towards the poor degraded and persecuted inha-
bitants of heathen lands; with feelings and endowments such
as these, we cannot wonder that he put aside any dreams of
worldly ambition in his own country (if such he ever had),
and sought to devote his life to the humble duties of a Chris-
tian Missionary. No man, with powers like those of young
Livingstone, can be quite unconscious of them. When a boy
he may have dreamed of foreign lands without aim or pur-
pose. When come to manhood, under the promptings of his
conscience, he resolved, as we have seen, humbly to devote all
the powers which God had given him, and by which he had
risen to what he then was, to the service of his Redeemer
and to the spread of light in the lands of heathen darkness.
PREFATORY LETTER. vil
I have dwelt on this passage of his life, because he told us
in his Address that he came among us as a Christian Mission-
ary; and in that capacity asked us for our help and counsel
and sympathy. Weare not permitted now to look for mi-
racles in the natural world; and no great tasks (those espe-
cially that are employed in changing the habits and opinions
of men, in influencing their lives, and in leading them from
evil to good) can ever be well done without much preparation
and previous thought, and without great and long-continued
labour. It would not, I think, be too much to affirm, that
all the early days of Livingstone’s life, from his childhood up-
wards, were, under Providence, a preparation for his missionary
labours in South Africa. 5
Disappointed in his early hopes of beginning his work in
China, he went out (under an engagement to the London Mis-
sionary Society) to South Africa; landed at Cape Town in
1840; without needless delay went up the country; and soon
began his labour of love among the Natives. After numberless
toils and some strange changes of fortune, but never without
hope and good courage and trust in God, he finally com-
pleted his great task at the mouth of the Zambesi, on the 12th
of July, 1856: and then, by the Mauritius and the Red Sea
he found his way back to England. In the letter I am now
writing, I can do little more than allude to the works
by which he fulfilled his mission during these sixteen event-
ful years: the details may be read and studied in his
published volume. But I may dwell, through one or two
pages, on the manner in which he began his great task, and
how he carried it forward during the first twelve years of his
wanderings in Africa.
For six months he shut himself out from all direct inter-
course with civilized men. He lived among the Natives as
their brother, till he gradually became familiar with their lan-
guage, their wants, their habits of thought, and all that made
them what they were—the poor degraded children of untaught
viil PREFATORY LETTER.
nature. Some of them might have seen and learnt to fear,
and perhaps to hate, the civilized men called Christian. For
it is certain that men, called Christian, living on the frontier
lines of savage lands (and the remark applies to no line more than
that which forms the northern skirt of the Cape Colonies), while
they perhaps thank God that they are not as the poor Savage
who is before them, are seldom known to hold out a hand to lift
him from the earth: nay, rather, are ever ready to make him
the enslaved minister of their base and selfish appetites.
With such apostles, civilization and Christian truth can
never make one step of good progress. Nay, such men will
dare to tell us (and thousands have been ready to believe the
tale, and even good men have listened to it) that when sunk
below a certain level, of which they make themselves the
judges, no power under heaven can reclaim the Savage—that
he is doomed to death by the God who created him—that
over him the promises of the Gospel have passed without any
meaning—that by the laws of nature, which are the voice of
God, he is predestined to be torn out of the soil like a rank
weed, or slaughtered like a wild beast of the forest.
Such was not the faith of Livingstone. He taught the
poor Africans to love him and to trust him, because he treated
them with confidence and love. He visited them in their
wants; he healed them in their sickness; he taught them the
first simple lessons of Christian truth. With the Natives who
had reached the years of manhood he made but slow progress.
Some of their Chiefs were, however, won over to the truth.
But while the greater number heard him with a kind of
torpid apathy, they learnt to honour and trust him; and
they were willing that he should teach his lessons to their
children. With the children he made far better progress,
while he taught them the simple lessons of the Gospel, awak-
ened their affections, and trained them in the humble duties of
a Christian life. During this period his Wife (a daughter of
Mr Moffat, the oldest and greatest of all the Missionaries of
PREFATORY LETTER. 1x
the Gospel to South Africa,) became his comforter and helper
in these good offices of love and ministerial duty. At length
a little vineyard was planted by him at Kolobeng and in the
country near the south-eastern skirts of the great Kalahari
desert, which promised to spread its fruit and branches far
and wide in South Africa.
Nor did he, during these years, forget the studies of his
earlier life, or shut his eyes to that goodly book of nature
which never ceased to charm him. His pages teem with
information and good suggestions ; to be worked out, we trust,
and turned to profit, by those who may hereafter follow in
his steps. In reading some of his plain unadorned descrip-
tions, which are almost sublime from their simple truthful-
ness, we might fancy that we were wandering with him
through a wild untamed world of an antique fashion (like
that sometimes painted by geologists) before man had been
placed upon it, and begun his works of change.
In 1849, he for the first time crossed a part of the great
Kalahari desert, and visited the lake Ngami.
His journal is here crowded with matters of deep interest
to a moralist or a naturalist—to one who can study human
nature in its lowest degradation, yet even there can find mar-
vellous traces of ingenuity and of aspirations after a higher and
better life ;—or to another who rejoices to view the face of the
natural world in its extremes of wild luxuriance and sterility ;
yet in both extremes capable of supporting millions of rational
beings when man has driven off the ponderous monsters that
are now stalking on the surface, and obeyed the command of
his Maker in subduing it.
The next year (1850) he made another northern excursion
and reached the great river Zambesi. It was then that he
became personally known to Sebituane, the conqueror and
Chief of all the neighbouring country. He was everywhere
received with fresh confidence and kindness. The report of
his labours of love had gone before him, and no one was
x PREFATORY LETTER.
afraid to trust him: but he learnt, to his dismay, that the
slave-dealer—the deadly minister of evil—had in the preced-
ing year found his way for the first time into a district under
the great Chief's authority. To arrest a deadly pestilence
before it had spread its moral poison through the country—
to teach the poor African that he might, without danger or
broil or bloodshed, carry on a good commerce with civilized
man without committing it to the brutal slave-dealer—to ex-
tend the ground of Christian Missions—to give a movement to
civilized commerce along the course of the great Zambesi, and
with it to stir up the honest zeal of good true-hearted men,
who, under Providence, might bring the light of civilization
and Christian truth to central Africa—these were the thoughts
that moved the heart and mind of Livingstone as he returned
southward to his home and Christian flock.
But a black cloud was hanging over the infant Church
that was founded by Livingstone. Crowds of lawless Boers
came, during the Caffre wars, to settle on the outskirts of the
Bechuana country. They called themselves Protestant Chris-
tians; and they had learnt to cull out from the Old Testament
some words which appeared to tell them that the heathen
were their inheritance, or seemed to sanction their deeds of
violence and aggression against the poor African. But their
senses were close-shut to the teaching of the Gospel—to its
message of peace and love to every son of man, and to all
nations under heaven. Many of these Boers had been trained
in deeds of blood before, and during, the Caffre wars. Many
had been open rebels against the central authorities at the
Cape. All lawless men, deserters and bad spirits, were
drawn towards them. By a disastrous treaty (for how can
any compromise with ignorant and lawless rebels be other-
wise than disastrous?) they gained a kind of political inde-
pendence. In words, indeed, they were bound to suppress
slavery and to give a free passage from the Cape Colonies to
the tribes in Central Africa: but conditions, with lawless
PREFATORY LETTER. xi
men, are a dead letter and a mockery. Aggression on ag-
gression followed; the Negro became no better than a slave
to the neighbouring Boers: and to complete their work, they
invaded the Bechuana country in 1852; ruined the Christian
settlement of Kolobeng; butchered many of the adults, and
swept off two hundred school-children into slavery. All
Dr Livingstone’s property was destroyed or plundered; his
house was a heap of ruins; his books were torn and scattered
to the winds. His Christian harvest was gone; and the field
in which he had laboured for ten years was made desolate.
All means of peacefully carrying on his mission at Kolobeng
were at an end.
A man of less resolute will, and less firm trust in Pro-
vidence, might well have despaired of doing more good work in
Africa, But hope and courage never left the heart of Living-
stone. He conducted his wife and children to Cape-Town,
and procured for them a passage to England. “ Thus” (to use
his own words) “he had for the first time during eleven years
revisited the scenes of civilization.” He improved himself in
the work of. scientific observation, under the direction of the
Royal Astronomer at the Cape. He prepared himself in every
way (within his means) which zeal and prudence and long
experience could point out to him. To their honour, be it
told, he had the cordial sanction of the London Missionary
Society in the great work that was now before him; and in
carrying it on, he was left to his uncontrolled discretion.
They had found the right man for their work, and they had
the heart to trust him.
Thus fortified, he turned his face once more, in good hope,
towards Central Africa: and in four years of danger and
great toil he realized the work which rose within his mind,
two years before, when he first saw the great Zambesi, and
first heard that the slave-dealer—the pest of Africa—had at
length found his way into the country of the Makololo.
From the center of South Africa he did “establish a highway”
xil PREFATORY LETTER.
to its eastern and western shores, which other men may
follow: and he has now gone back from England in the fervent
hope that Christian men may learn to carry on a righteous
commerce along this “highway ;” and that Africa may learn
to bless the stranger who comes to visit her, and to know
that she may procure the precious goods of the white man at
a better rate than giving him in exchange the life and blood
of her own children.
Some readers of this letter may think it strange that I
have written so much about Dr Livingstone’s earlier life, and
passed over, with such brief notice, his almost super-human
labours during his two journeys of discovery from Linyanti
to the eastern and western coasts of Africa. But I do not
profess to write a review of his admirable Volume. Thou-
sands will delight to read his history after he left Cape Town
in 1852. But in the long succession of trying incidents there
recorded—in the varied aspects of wild untamed nature, and of
man as wild as the land in which he dwells, yet struggling
and looking upward for something better—a reader may per-
haps forget that Livingstone travelled and did all his work as
a Christian Missionary; and overlook the causes which, with
God’s blessing, helped him to triumph over every danger that
beset him on his way. If his early life was a preparation
for his mission to South Africa; with still more literal truth
we may affirm that his missionary life of twelve years helped
to arm him, in mind and hand, for the good work which he
afterwards accomplished: and we may well doubt whether in
all Europe there was another man who could have had the
heart to undertake, and the head to finish the good work that
he has done.
Let us just consider the powers he brought to bear upon
the task. He was a man of a wiry frame that was fitted
for much endurance; of great physical courage; of much
fore-thought and prudence; of a strong and steadfast will
in carrying out the purpose of his heart; of a cheerful and
PREFATORY LETTER. xili
hopeful temper; of ample love towards his fellow-creatures,
and a hatred of that brutalizing policy by which millions of
the human family are made the hopeless bond-slaves of their
brethren, and shut out from the blessings which God has in
ample store for all his children; of a keen relish for natural
beauty, and a love of natural knowledge which kept him
alive in all his wanderings, and helped to drive away any
sinking of spirit that might have been his death; of a firm
trust in Providence; of a firm belief that, with a good
conscience, he was doing a work of solemn obligation, and
carrying out, as best he could, a commission which, through
God’s will, had been intrusted to his hands. Personally, then,
he had no ground of fear; and he had the best ground of hope,
whatever might be the issue of his labour.
Qualities like these might, perhaps, have been found in
some other men. But where are we to find another who
combined these gifts with twelve years of familiar intercourse
with the children of South Africa; who could speak their
prevailing dialect like one of themselves; who was inured to
their climate; who knew their manners, superstitions and
affections; who knew how to control their savage passions, in
times of perilous excitement, by reasons they could compre-
hend; who by long acts of kindness had been training them
from evil to good; who passed among them as a Father;
whom they had learnt to trust as a friend and benefactor?
Every good practical work must have a firm basis to rest
upon. Livingstone’s operations were based upon his long
labours of love, on the good-will and trust he had gained
among the Natives, and on the power of persuasion he had,
by long experience, gained over their Chiefs. In this power
he trusted, and in the time of need it did not disappoint him.
After a journey from Cape Town of eleven months, in the
well-known carriage (the ponderous bullock-waggon of South
Africa), he reached Linyanti, the capital of Makololo, in May
1853. The Chapters in which he describes this long journey
xiv PREFATORY LETTER.
are among the most interesting of his Volume. His pages are
pregnant with good suggestions, and filled with objects of most
lively interest. Sebituane was dead. But his successor, Se-
keletu, received our Missionary with unhesitating kindness:
and many were the rude, but honest, proofs of his good-will.
During a halt at Linyanti, and a tour of nine weeks on the
Leeambye, our Author tells us “that he had been in closer
contact with heathenism than he had ever been before;” and
strange are the pictures of savage life which he has put be-
fore us.
As he had in good hope anticipated, when he left Cape
Town, he readily persuaded Sekeletu to support him in his
plan of discovery. The Makololo were ready for the enter-
prise, and anxious for honest commerce with the “ children of
the sea”—the white men of the far west. The question was
discussed in public. They counted the cost and knew the
danger; but the popular voice was won: and 27 men (of
six distinct tribes, and familiar with several dialects of
South Africa) were equipped for the expedition—not as slaves
or hired servants, but as companions and helpers to Dr
Livingstone, in an object as eagerly desired by the great
Chief and many of his people, as by himself.
Thus supported he began his perilous journey up the
Leeambye, in November, 1853, ‘“ As I had always believed,”
he tells us, “that, if we serve God at all, it ought to be done
in a manly way, I wrote to my brother, commending our little
girl to his care, as I was determined to succeed or perish in
the attempt to open up this part of Africa. The Boers, by
taking possession of all my goods, had saved me the trouble
of making a will; and considering the light heart now left in
my bosom, and some faint efforts to perform the duty of
Christian forgiveness, I felt that it was better to be one of the
plundered party than one of the plunderers.” The limits of
this letter prevent me from making a longer extract.
With stout hearts this little crew ascended the upper
PREPATORY LETTER. XV
Zambesi (or Leeambye)—one part in canoes, and the other part
on foot or on riding-oxen—bearing Sekeletu’s ivory for the
market of Loanda, and such light baggage as they were able
to carry for their own support in their long and perilous
journey. In this way they passed through the whole of the
Barotse valley, and at length entered on a country that owed
no allegiance to Sekeletu. They afterwards quitted the Zam-
besi, and ascended the Leeba, a large tributary river which
led them towards the north-west. Continuing their onward
course, among tribes who did not obstruct them, but gave
them generous and friendly help, they were induced (on the
10th of February, 1854) to leave their canoes behind: and
then, after crossing vast swampy places and many tributary
streams that fall to the left bank of the Leeba, they slowly
worked their way; and, on the 20th of February, 1854, came
upon the water-shed of South Africa.
This water-shed is not a mountain-chain—sending its brawl-
ing torrents, on the one side towards the Atlantic, and on the
other towards the Indian seas—but is represented by a vast
table-land which stretches through many degrees of latitude;
and (north of the Zambesi) through many degrees of longitude;
and is crowned, here and there, with great swamps and tangled
and almost impenetrable forests, or by shallow lakes which
are fringed with the rankest tropical vegetation. From be-
neath these swampy lands ooze out those waters which form
the northern feeders of the great Zambesi:—not in dark brown
streams, like those which come from the mountain-bogs of the
British Isles, but in clear pellucid water which has filtered
through the uncarbonized roots and grass of the upper plains.
Such appears to be the nature of the physical boundary
which stretches far and wide across a large portion of the con-
tinent, and separates those central parts of South Africa, from
which our travellers started, from the unexplored regions ex-
tending towards the north. How far the table-land extends
in that direction, and whether it does not blend itself with,
Xvl PREFATORY LETTER.
and pass into, the physical structure of Northern Africa, are
questions to be, we trust, hereafter settled. Its greatest height
above the sea, along the track taken by Dr Livingstone, is
about 5,000 feet. Its height at the swampy lake Dilolo,
which is precisely on one part of the summit-level, is not
more than 4,000 feet.
In their progress up the Zambesi, the land was almost
featureless. Great damp plains—flooded after the fall of the
tropical rains—skirt the river-banks. Ant-hills (as large, how-
ever, as hay-stacks) are the pigmy mountains of the neigh-
bouring lands; and they rise, during the floods, like oases
out of the deserts of water. Hence these ant-hills are often
the special seats of human life and cultivation. Up the Leeba,
and almost to the water-shed, the country improves in feature.
Ridges of high land were seen towards the east, which might
deserve the name of hills: and among the valleys that de-
scended from these hills, nature seemed to revel, here and there,
in her most gorgeous forms of tropical vegetation. Still there
were the same prevailing characters. Rank grasses, often rising
above the heads of those who were on ox-back—a dull swampy
surface—streams as clear as crystal emerging from the upper
swamps—and a dismal rising vapour, bearing with it a
malaria most oppressive to the strength and senses.
Spite of all difficulties, and spite of attacks of fever, which
almost bent him to the ground, Dr Livingstone moved on-
wards—kept alive by a spirit of enterprise—by hope and good
courage which never left him—and above all by a trust in
Providence, and a firm belief that he was engaged in a task
of solemn duty, which, under God’s blessing, might bring good
to his fellow-men. His loyal crew partook of a portion of
their leader’s spirit, and were hardly heard to utter a murmur
during the long months of their daily toils; and they never
flinched from their duty.
But if there was much, along the Zaralgai to weigh down
the spirits, there was, also, much to raise them up. Elephants
PREFATORY LETTER. XVll
and zebras ; herds of buffaloes, gnus, water-antelopes, and other
ruminants, were the inviting game of the neighbouring country.
“Alligators (Crocodiles?) in prodigious numbers,” sometimes
with their attendant watch-birds, might be seen near the banks of
the great river. Shoals of hippopotami so filled its waters, that
in some places it required skill and caution to steer the canoes
clear of them, and avoid their lumbering carcases when they
were disturbed and rose suddenly towards the surface. Some-
times the females were found moving through the water, and
bearing their young (gipsy-fashion) on their backs. Strange
wading birds were seen along the shoals. The moping ibis of -
Egypt was found upon the river banks. Flocks of black
geese, and multitudes of water-fowl were rising continually
before them. All nature seemed to swarm with life; and
each creature to be fitted for its work and element.
As our travellers ascended the Leeba, the game on which
they fed became less and less abundant. The Natives had
procured fire-arms, by wretched bargains with the slave-dealer,
and had driven the larger animals into the recesses of the
forest. Hence, while Dr Livingstone and his brave followers
crossed to the western side of the water-shed (and for six
weeks afterwards), they had to sleep upon the damp ground,
to live generally on manioc (a miserable tasteless innutritious
food, like starch), and sometimes to endure the severe pains of
hunger. Through dire necessity they had to slaughter several
of the oxen which carried them and their baggage and the
tusks Sekeletu had sent with them for the market of the far
west.
But I must not, in this sketch, pass over the Native
families with whom they held intercourse on their way.
From the bottom to the top of the Barotse valley they met
with every mark of good-will and kindness which the humble
negro could show to strangers. Their wants were all supplied
—their food was abundant—and they suffered nothing but
what inevitably sprang from fatigue and an oppressive climate.
4
XViil PREFATORY LETTER.
Let it not be said that these, most welcome proofs of kindness,
on the part of the Natives, arose from fear of Sekeletu whom
they acknowledged as their Chief: for Dr Livingstone and his
whole crew met with men of the same hospitable and con-
fiding temper, far beyond the authority of Sekeletu—even to
the summit of that high table-land which parts the waters of
the Congo and the Zambesi.
A man who rejoices in faithful pictures of manners, dis-
played by the rude untaught children of nature; who loves to
turn his thoughts to the forms of government by which they
are held in social union and obedience to their Chiefs; to their
superstitious and early aspirations after a higher life; to the
first rude dawnings of those passions and affections by which
they may be trained to good or evil:—such a man will delight
in the voyage of Livingstone along the Zambesi and the
Leeba, and his descriptions of the courts (for such they may
be called) of Shinte and Katema. We may laugh at the
domestic manners, and the grotesque ceremonials of the black
men. We may, perhaps, be shocked at the gods they igno-
rantly worship and the rude symbols of their idolatry. We
may pity their ill-placed confidence in trials by ordeal—fatal
more often to the innocent than the guilty. We may, perhaps,
laugh again. at their belief in the transmigration of souls ;
when we read that there are Tribes, on the banks of the Lower
Zambesi, who dare not hunt the lion, lest in so doing they
should be hunting one who had in former times been their
Chief. We may, perhaps, think with self-satisfied scorn
of their simple faith in witchcraft, charms and sorceries, and
their implicit trust in quacks and rain-doctors.
These blind feelings after knowledge—these rude distor~
tions of the human soul in thought and deed—were not
matters of mockery to Livingstone. ‘They gave him a lesson,
and he knew how to read it. They prove, by a test drawn
from an extreme case, that the poor African is our untaught
Brother, created by the God who made us; and knit toge-
PREFATORY LETTER. ‘sie
ther, soul as well as body, out of elements undistinguishable
from our own. We may look at the fantastical decorations
of his outer person; such, for example, as the head-dresses
figured in the Missionary Travels. There is not one among
them comparable in absurdity to those monstrous stacks of
perfumed and powdered hair that were worn last century by
the fairest daughters of England. There is no end to the
fooleries of fashion, whatever may be the condition of society,
however high or low may be its grade. Even in this much
boasted nineteenth century, were a man dropped amongst us,
after a few years of absence from the earth, he might well
think that a vile wizard had transformed the lower half of
our fair sisters into the semblance of some ponderous Pachy-
derm ; and that they were doing their best to conceal this
monstrous metamorphosis by hoops of iron and ugly outworks
of flounce and furbelow.
If Africa have its wretched slave-gangs; we once had
slaves in England, and sent them in gangs to the markets of
civilized Europe. If Africa have now its miserable ordeals ;
we once had our trials by ordeal, long after we had risen on
the social scale very far above the rank of savages. Nay,
within my memory, an accused Englishman claimed the right
of appeal to wager of battle—as one of the surviving remnants
of a legal form of ordeal. How long is it since our statute-
book ceased to be blackened by capital enactments against
witchcraft ; and our jail-deliveries disgraced by horrible acts
of torture inflicted (after all the solemn formalities of law)
upon poor decrepit unoffending English women? If Africa
have its quacks, we too have a plentiful crop from the same
vile seed. If we have no rain-doctors (and the fickle ele-
ments would spoil their practice were they here), we have
our rain-prophets, and our weather-wise impostors, in plenty;
who year by year know how to sell their atmospheric oracles
to thousands. And as to charms and other credulous fooleries
of the poor African; we can surely match him in our table-
49
es PREFATORY LETTER.
turnings, and our spirit-rappings, and our purblind acceptance
of the worst impostures of clairvoyance. The follies and sins
of civilised men are, from pure shame, partly trimmed and
coloured in a way to conceal or lessen their deformity, and
partly hidden in darkness: but the faults of the poor savage
stand out in full relief and in the light of day.
A good lesson, I repeat, may be drawn from the pages of
Livingstone—not from those only which tell us of the fidelity
and the honesty and the kindness of the poor African; but
those also which tell us of his faults and follies. Ignorant
and degraded as he is, he is still our Brother, and the child
of the great God who made us. If this be so, cold must be
the heart and stunted the faith of that Christian man, who
can believe that the glorious promises of the Gospel have no
application to one quarter of the world, and that the “Sun
of righteousness” is never meant to shine on the dark portions
of benighted Africa.
Before I go on, let me quote a few lines from one of
the golden pages of Dr Livingstone. Describing his ascent
through the Barotse valley he tells us, “ that the welkin rings
with the singing of birds, which is not so delightful as the
notes of birds at home, because Ihave not been familiar with
them from infancy. The notes here, however, strike the mind
by their loudness and variety, as the wellings forth from
joyous hearts of praise to Him who fills them with overflowing
gladness. All of us rise early to enjoy the luscious balmy air
of the morning. We then have worship; but amidst all the
beauty and loveliness with which we are surrounded there is
still a feeling of want in the soul in viewing one’s poor com-
panions, and hearing their bitter impure words jarring on
the ear in the perfection of the scenes of nature ; and a longing
that both their hearts and ours might be brought into har-
mony with the Great Father of Spirits. I pointed out, in
the simplest words I could employ, the remedy which God
had presented to us in the inexpressibly precious gift of His
PREPATORY LETTER. xxl
own Son, on whom the Lord ‘laid the iniquity of us all.’
The great difficulty in dealing with this people is to make the
subject plain. The minds of the auditors cannot be under-
stood by one who has not mingled much with them. They
readily pray for the forgiveness of sins, and then sin again;
confess the evil of it, and there the matter ends.”
Does not this extract prove, that the poor African is of
a moral nature in the exact similitude of our own—that he is
of our very kith and kin—that he is indeed our humble
Brother? If so, our duty towards him is plain on the general
score of humanity; and the commands of God are plain and
positive. This at least we may say—with a full assurance of
God’s truth—that we commit a deadly sin against a benevo-
lent Creator if we try to enslave and shut out, from the bless-
ings of His truth, any portion of the human family: that
we mock His attributes and scorn His redeeming mercies
while we treat his humbler children as if they were only
born to be beasts of burden to the proud civilized idolaters of
Mammon. In the next paragraph—still writing of the Na-
tives—he adds, “I shall not often advert to their depravity.
My practice has always been to apply the remedy with all
possible earnestness, but never allow my own mind to dwell
on the dark shades of men’s character. I have never been
able to draw pictures of guilt, as if that could awaken Chris-
tian sympathy.”
After tracking their way several weeks through swamps,
and forests, and rank grasses which often reached two or three
feet above the heads of those who were riding on the oxen;
and after crossing many clear streams which ooze out of the
higher plains, and by their union form the last ramifications
of the Kasye (a supposed tributary of the Congo), they at
Jength crossed the Mosamba ridge. Soon afterwards they
found the western edge of the great table-land, and had their
hearts refreshed by the sight of a noble valley, the lateral
streams of which unite and form the river Quango. This
Xxil PREFATORY LETTER.
great river has a northern course through several degrees of
latitude, and is then supposed to turn to the west, and at
length to merge itself in the waters of the Congo.
The views, from the edge of the highlands, were glorious.
“ Hmerging,” writes the Author, “from the forests of Londa,
this magnificent prospect made us feel as if a weight had been
lifted from our eyelids.” And well might their hearts rejoice;
for on the other side of the great broad valley (or system of
valleys) there rose a western chain of mountains in a country
under the government of Portugal. As he descended from
the table-land, he was so weak, from many previous attacks
of fever, that he had to be supported by his attendants. “‘ It
was annoying (he remarks with characteristic simplicity) to
find myself so helpless; for I never liked to see a man, either
sick or well, giving in effeminately.” In the valley they
were compelled, from want of food, to slaughter one of their
few remaining oxen; for they were in a land of inhospitable
Savages —men trained in treachery and blood by the teaching
of the slave-dealer—who had food in plenty, but would give
none of it to the weary strangers except in exchange for men
(to be sold as slaves), or fire-arms, or oxen. On the third of
April, 1854, they reached the left bank of the Quango. Dr
Livingstone was then withont any change of clothes, and with-
out a tent to cover him in the night. His little tent had
been for some time in tatters, and he was fain to cower
under his remaining blanket—“ thankful to God for His good-
ness, for having so far brought them in safety without loss or
bloodshed.”
The next day they crossed the river, after a malicious, but
harmless, discharge of fire-arms had been opened on them by
the Savages they were leaving behind. They were soon con-
ducted to the hospitable house of Cypriano, a half-caste Por-
tuguese sergeant; and their dangers were at an end; for they
were now in a country ruled over by the old and tried friends
of England. ‘‘ We could breathe freely,” says the Author;
PREFATORY LETTER. XXlll
‘“‘and my men remarked, in thankfulness, ‘ We are the children
of Jesus.” Whether they fully understood these words may
well admit of doubt. They had heard their Master use these
words, and he had done his best to make his hearers compre-
hend their meaning. Whatever may have been the speculative
faith of these humble Africans, we may say of them with
truth, that a more true-hearted and gallant crew has seldom
followed a Christian leader through toil and danger.
In this long journey from the lake Dilolo to the west-
ern bank of the Quango, they had to pass the country of
the Chiboques ; men thoroughly brutalized by their inter-
course with the Mambari slave-dealers. They no longer
met with truth and kindness and friendly help; but with
falsehood, treachery, shameless extortion, and murderous
intent. When Livingstone asked for food, though of the
simplest kind and which they had in abundance, he was
told to pay the price in a slave, a gun, a tusk, or in one
of his oxen. Whatever were his straits, he was not the
man to sell one of his loyal companions; nor did he commit
the suicidal folly of parting with a gun to those who were
ready to murder him and make a slave-gang of his fol-
lowers; and the tusks were not his own. Through hard
necessity, some time before he crossed the Quango, all his
oxen were killed excepting four; these he saved from fur-
ther importunity by lopping off a portion of their tails;
for the fierce savages were cowed at the sight of a stump-
tailed bullock ; thinking it must have some charmed drug
within it that might work them mischief.
Though worn down by hard labour, bad food, and
many obstinate attacks of fever “which reduced him almost
to a skeleton,” hope never left him; and he trusted that
God would give them a deliverance from danger. It was
this sentiment that kept up the courage of a brave heart,
and made him calm and prudent in the hour of utmost
peril. At one halting-place some of the Chiboque remarked,
XX1V PREFATORY LETTER.
“they have only five guns;’ and soon afterwards their
Chief collected all his people, ‘“‘ well armed with spears,
swords, arrows, and guns;” and with fierce shouts they
surrounded the little encampment of Livingstone. He
calmly faced the danger, though his personal risk was im-
minent; for he knew well that if a fight began “the Chi-
boque would aim at the white man first.” He came in
front, sat down upon his camp-stool, with a double-barrelled
gun across his knees and a double-barrelled pistol at his
side, and invited them to a parley. The chief and his
leading men accepted the invitation, and sat down in front
of their own party. By this act “they had placed them-
selves in a trap, for the little band of Makololo behaved with
admirable coolness, very quietly surrounded them, and made
them feel that there was no chance of escaping their spears.”
The danger was however great. For the crowd was
furious; brandishing their weapons, and pointing their
guns at Livingstone, while he sat calmly on his camp-stool.
“JT was careful,” he says, “not to appear flurried; and,
having four barrels ready for instant action, looked quietly
on the savage scene around.” ‘The courage of the white
man at length prevailed; and after giving an ox as the
price of peace, the crowd separated, and he was permitted
to go on his way. “I felt assured,” he tells us, ‘of being
enabled, with the Makololo, who had been drilled by Sebi-
tuane, to beat off our assailants. I was truly thankful,
nevertheless, that—though resolved to die rather than de-
liver up one of our number to be a slave—we had so far
gained our point as to be allowed to pass on without having
shed human blood.”
The country they had then to pass through had its
tracks well trodden, and was not wanting in food. But
the guides were treacherous and the natives inhospitable.
He was ever the first when danger was in front. He was
the last to cross the rivers; and it was his task, in case of
PREFATORY LETTER. XXV
need, to compel a treacherous ferryman to complete his
bargain. Many times he could have forced a supply of
food for his party, and cut his way through those who
opposed him; but he had come on an honest mission of
peace, and not on one of violence and blood. Hence,
before he crossed the Quango, he was compelled to part
with his last change of linen, and every scrap of property
that he had a right to exchange for food; and his black
friends were in like poverty, being stripped of the most
prized decorations of their persons.
He knew how to maintain a good discipline, necessary
to his own life as well as theirs: and on one occasion when
there was a mutinous brawl among his men, while they
were feasting on an ox he had slaughtered for a Sunday
feast, he came from his tent, where he had been resting in
a state of febrile stupor, with a double-barrelled pistol in
his hand, and told them, “That he would maintain disci-
pline, though at the expense of some of their limbs; that
so long as they travelled together they must remember that
he was Master.” “There being but little room to doubt
his determination, they immediately became very obedient,
and never afterwards gave him any trouble.”
When further on their way, they all became disheart-
ened; and some of the Makololo proposed that they should
return home. But how were they to return home through
the hostile country of the Chiboque? Their property was
gone. Sekeletu’s tusks were still with them. That pro-
perty had been held sacred till this day, when through
dire necessity they were compelled to part with a single
tusk. “The prospect of turning back when just on the
threshold of the Portuguese settlement” was too painful to
be endured. He used his best powers of persuasion, and
then declared to them that if they returned he would go
alone ; and he then went into: his little tent to pray to God
for help. His true-hearted band soon followed, and with
XXv1 PREFATORY LETTER.
artless simplicity tried to comfort him in such words as
these: ‘“‘We will never leave you—Do not be disheart-
ened—Wherever you lead we will follow—We are all your
children—We will die for you—We have not fought be-
cause you did not wish it; but if these enemies begin, you
will see what we can do.”
Contrary to my express intention when I began this
letter, I have been led to touch on details which shew the
heroic side of Livingstone’s noble character. He may not
be a man of high birth, as height is counted in the heraldic
symbols of honour; but his patent of nobility was regis-
tered in heaven, and the stamp of true greatness was fixed
on his brow by the hand of the King of kings. He stood
before us in our Senate-House, as a Christian hero; and as
such we gave him the warmest welcome of our hearts.
Leaving this digression, I will rejoin the little band of
tattered travellers while among their kind friends at the house
of Cypriano. After enjoying at his hospitable house some
very welcome days of rest and refreshment, they moved on
to Cassange, the frontier Portuguese station, and there sold
their merchandise of tusks at a good price. They then
crossed the Tala Mungongo mountains, which form a part
of the most western skirt of the great table-land they had
left behind, and descended into the valley of the Quize, in —
the higher lands of which, their eyes were greeted with the
sight of wheat-fields, first introduced, it is said, by the
Jesuit missionaries. In the country through which they
continued to descend, first among the tributaries of the
river Coanza and afterwards down the valley of the Bengo,
they met everywhere with ample courtesy and kindness.
Wide tracts of country, with a soil of almost unbounded
fertility, were however left wild and uncultivated. As they
journeyed onwards, orchards of fruit-trees, pine-apples and
cotton-fields met their eyes. But they were sickly and
out of spirits—partly from daily fatigue, and partly from
PREFATORY LETTER. xxVli
the effects of climate and the rank luxuriance of vegetable
life. All the cultivation they saw was the result of slave-
labour: and the slaves told the Makololo, in passing, that
they were going to Loanda to be sold by Dr Livingstone ;
for no white man had ever led black men from the interior
country to the coast without selling them. Still the Mako-
lolo followed their master with a loyal obedience, spite of
some natural misgivings as to their own fate. j
On the 3lst of May, 1854, when they crossed the plains
above Loanda and first came in sight of the sea, they looked
with awe upon the boundless waters. “ We marched along
with our Father (they said) believing—what the Ancients
had always told us—that the world has no end; but all at
once the world says to us—I am finished—there is no more
of me!” They then descended the declivity above the city of
Loanda, while their leader was sick from chronic dysentery,
exhausted by long fatigue, and under a great depression of
spirits: for he felt doubtful about his reception in a city of
12,000 souls, among whom there was but one English gen-
tleman. Mr Gabriel, the Commissioner for the suppression
of the slave-trade, was, however (he tells us), “a real
whole-hearted Englishman. Seeing me so ill he benevo-
lently offered me his bed: and never shall I forget the
luxuriant pleasure I enjoyed in feeling myself again on a
good English couch, after six months sleeping on the
ground.”
The arrival from central Africa of twenty-seven free
men, headed by a native of North Britain, was a joyful
event, unexampled in the history of the province of An-
gola; and the whole party received most substantial proofs
of good-will, not only from Mr Gabriel, but also from
the Bishop (then acting Governor of the Province), and
from the Portuguese gentlemen resident at Loanda. Dr
Livingstone’s illness was of a nature that did not admit of
a speedy cure; and while he remained at the house of his
XXVH1 PREFATORY LETTER.
kind friend, some British ships of war came to anchor at
the port; and several officers, as a matter of course, soon
found their way to his sick chamber. When they saw his
emaciated condition, they offered to convey him to St Helena,
or to give him a passage home. But the spirit of hope had
not left him. He was bound in conscience to carry back
the fruit of their labour to Sekeletu, and he was bound in
honour not to desert his loyal crew. So he refused the
tempting offer, spite of all the dangers and toils to be en-
countered on their return to Linyanti. And well it was
for him and for us, that his trust in Providence did not fail,
and that his heart remained firm to its purpose; for the
vessel in which he might have sought a safeguard from
sickness and danger, was lost in its way back to England.
Gladly, however, he accepted the medical help offered by
Captain Phillips of the Polyphemus; and (he tells us)
‘that Mr Cockin’s treatment, aided by the exhilarating
presence of the warm-hearted naval officers, and Mr Ga-
briel’s unwearied hospitality and care, soon brought him
round again.”
The Makololo were presented by Mr Gabriel with red
caps and striped cotton dresses; and thus arrayed they were
led by Dr Livingstone on a state visit to the Bishop (the
provisional Governor), who received them with all courtesy
in the hall of his palace, and gave them the right of a free
passage to Loanda, whenever they might wish to revisit it.
They were afterwards invited, by Captain Skene and Com-
mander Bedingfield, to visit the Philomel and the Pluto.
Nearly the whole party of the Makololo went on board;
but not without some natural misgivings; for they had
been told, again and again, by their own countrymen, that
their leader would in the end sell them to the “men of the
sea.” When on deck Dr Livingstone pointed to the sailors
and said, “these are my countrymen sent by our Queen to
put down the trade of those who buy and sell black men.”
PREFATORY LETTER. XXIx
Truly they are just like you, was the reply. All their fear
at once vanished. They went forward among the jolly
crew and partook of their dinner. They were allowed to
fire off a cannon, and were delighted to see the powerful
weapons with which the English put down the slave-trade.
The size of the brig-of-war amazed them. “It is not a
canoe, it is a town,” was their remark; “and what sort of
a town is this which you must climb up into with a rope?”
All the way from Linyanti, the Makclolo had been kind
and loyal to their leader; but this visit to the ships of war
made him stand higher still in their estimate of his authority.
He had to the last been faithful to them; he was honoured
by his own countrymen; all their misgivings were now
gone ; and from that day they looked up to him with un-
flinching deference and fidelity. Indeed from their first
arrival at Loanda every one remarked the respectful gravity
of their deportment. They were struck with awe at the
sight of the large stone-houses, the churches, and the sea.
A house of two stories was a thing for which they had no
name in their own tongue. The only houses they had
known were huts made out of poles stuck in the ground.
Describing the houses at Loanda, “these are not huts, they
said, but mountains, with several caves in them.” But this
feeling of awe and wonder did not, as one might have sup-
posed, make them torpid and indifferent to their own place
and duties. Quite the contrary. For Dr Livingstone had
a severe relapse in the early part of the month of August,
1854, which again confined him to his room; and on his
recovery he found that the Makololo, without any hints
from himself, had set up a brisk trade in fire-wood. Day
by day they had sallied out at cock-crowing, and by morning
light had reached the thickets and there collected bundles
of fire-wood, which they brought back to the city. The
bundles were then made into fagots, for which they had
found a ready market. They were also employed, each at
‘
ERK: PREFATORY LETTER.
sixpence a-day, in unloading a coal-vessel that had come
from England; and proved themselves good free-labourers,
sticking steadily to their work for more than a month. In
their own words—they had laboured every day, from sun-
rise to sun-set, for a moon and a half; unloading, as quickly
as they could, “ stones that burn,” till they were tired out.
With the money thus gained, they purchased clothing
and ornaments to take back with them on their journey
home: and our author has thought it deserving of remark,
that when taken to a shop where they saw many specimens
of calico—some of which were flimsy, but of gaudy colours ;
and when told to choose what they most valued, they all
selected the strongest and best specimens of English calico,
without any reference whatever to colour. Facts such as
I have stated prove that the poor African is our brother—
not to be trampled on, but to be won with kindness—to be
taught gradually the arts of life, and he is willing to be
taught—to be instructed in the pure lessons and hopes of
the Gospel—and so be raised to the level of a true Christian
brother, who may at length learn how to walk in the ways
of pleasantness and the paths of peace. But, these lessons,
alas! he has seldom been taught, during the past three
hundred years, by the men of Europe who have gone to the
outskirts of his country.
The objects our author had in view were so well ap-
proved of by the authorities of Loanda that they voted a
colonel’s uniform and a horse for Sekeletu, and suits of
clothing for all the men who had come on the expedition
The merchants, by public subscription, gave them specimens
of all the best articles of trade; and two donkeys were
added, in the hope of introducing that beast of burden among
the Makololo—on many accounts valuable, and most of all
because it is insensible to the poison of the Tsetse. Dr Living-
stone procured also a good stock of cotton-cloth, ammunition
and beads, and gave each of his followers a musket; and he
PREFATORY LETTER. xXxxl
was himself also supplied “ with a good new tent, made by
his friends on board the Philomel.”
Their baggage was indeed heavy when they left their
kind friends at Loanda on the 20th of September, 1854,
after a halt of nearly four months; but the Bishop had
furnished them with twenty carriers, and ordered the
Commandants of the districts they had to pass through
to give them all needful help. Their way was slow, but
the country was beautiful and rich almost beyond imagina-
tion, and the inhabitants were courteous and _ friendly.
The Makololo were pained by the dryness of the soil, to
which their feet were unaccustomed, but their spirits bore
them up; and while on their way they were composing
songs to be sung when they should reach Linyanti. Like
other poets they were somewhat vain-glorious. “It is well,
they said, that you came with the Makololo, for no tribe
could have done what we have accomplished in coming to
the white man’s country: we are the true Ancients that can
tell wonderful things.”
At Golungo Alto several of the Makololo suffered from
malaria, and one of them had an attack of mania. He
started up one day saying to his companions—“ remain well,
I am called away to the gods!” and off he ran at full speed.
He was caught, after a long race, and brought back; and
through gentle treatment he in a few days recovered.
Livingstone also suffered by fever, while halting in the
same neighbourhood at the hospitable house of Mr Canto.
On the 14th of December the whole party were suf-
ficiently recovered to resume their journey; and after
crossing the Lucalla (one of the feeders of the river Coanza)
they turned southwards to see the famous rocks of Pungo
Andongo, and to visit the domains of Colonel Pires—one
of the richest, wisest, and most patriotic men of the whole
Province. On his estate cattle are found in thousands:
his dairies produce excellent cheese and butter: his wheat-
XXXll PREFATORY LETTER.
crops are luxuriant: grapes, figs and peaches are the fruits
of his cultivation: nature all round him is prolific, food is
abundant, and the labourers are cheerful and well-fed.
Were there a few more men scattered through Angola like
this ‘‘merchant prince,” it would soon become a bright
jewel in the Crown of Portugal—of far higher price than it
ever was, even in those days when the export trade in slaves
was not restrained but encouraged by the great Christian —
states of Europe.
Here Dr Livingstone learnt, to his sorrow, that his
despatches, maps and journal had gone to the bottom of
the sea, in the mail-packet that was to convey them from
Loanda to England. He rejoiced, however, to find that
his friend Lieutenant Bedingfield (to whom they had been
entrusted) had escaped with life in the hour of peril: and
with characteristic energy, he immediately set to work to
re-write his journal; and as far as possible to replace his
loss. He remained, therefore, to the end of the year with
Colonel Pires; and nowhere in Angola could he have found
a better resting-place.
On the Ist of January, 1855, having re-produced some
of his lost papers, he resumed his journey. They halted at
a dairy-establishment of Colonel Pires; and then through
rich green pastures they went on to Malange, where they
struck upon the track by which, in the previous year, they
had entered the province of Angola. While continuing their
way, they met a half-caste slave-dealer bringing his gang of
sixty slaves and many elephants’ tusks from the interior.
They also met several carriers bearing ivory and large cakes
of bees’ wax for the markets of Loanda. On the 15th of
January they again crossed the heights of Tala Mungongo;
and after approximating to the elevation of these mountains
by experiments on the temperature of boiling water, our
author and his followers descended once more among the
tributaries of the Quango. With untiring labour he con-
PREFATORY LETTER. XXX1i1
tinued to explore the features of the country and to examine
its resources; and on the 20th of February they left the
frontier-station of Cassange behind them. But before they
arrived at the left bank of the Quango, they were again
brought to a halt by a fever which attacked two of the
Makololo; and they did not reach the house of their friend
Cypriano till the end of February. The next day, by a
payment of calico (the money of the country), they were
ferried across the Quango, and were once more among
hostile Chiboque, and beyond the protection of the authori-
ties of Angola: but they were well armed against attack, and
had brought ample means with them for purchasing their
needful food.
The country, on the east side of the Mungongo range,
which they had now traversed, was of a fertility and
beauty that called forth Dr Livingstone’s frequent expres-
sions of admiration and delight. Even the Makololo were
loud in their words of praise at the sight of the fine garden-
grounds through which they were journeying; and they set
down the inhabitants as an inferior race of white men,
because they knew not the use of milk, and were seen to
kill their heifer-calves, and cows. When told that flour,
and some other articles of daily use among the Portuguese,
were brought from a far country, they exclaimed—“ they
are ignorant of living, they know nothing but buying and
selling, they are not men.” I hope, adds Dr Livingstone,
that this may reach the ears of my Angola friends, and stir
them up to develope the resources of their fine country.
While he remained in the Province he lost no opportunity
of learning its resources. Its natural riches are almost in-
credible; but have so far been turned to small profit. The
palm-tree which produces the oil of commerce rises there to
perfection. The tobacco-plant grows in great luxuriance ;
and rich grounds with orange-trees and bananas, maize and
manioc, are found in the lower valleys and plains. The
5
5
XXXIV PREFATORY LETTER.
coffee-tree grows rapidly on the outskirts, and within the
partial shade, of the forests. In many parts of the country,
especially on the banks of the Coanza, there are vast tracts
of land admirably fitted for the cultivation of sugar, rice
and cotton. Good iron mines are found and partially
worked in the same districts. That the uplands of the
Province are admirably fitted for pasture and for agriculture
is most certain. But the country is without carriage-roads ;
and it is in vain to look for a great production of food
where there are no roads for its conveyance to a distant
market.
The whole economy of the Province was vitiated by
the long continuance of the foreign slave-trade. The great
proprietors came to Angola to gain wealth, and then to
return to Europe. They found the export of slaves a ready
source of profit; and they little thought of durable improve-
ments of the soil, which, however promising in regard to
future good, could produce little gain before they left the
country. The one great source of wealth has now been cut
off; and the country is, as our Author tells us, in a state of
“transition from unlawful to lawful trade.” But bodies
of men cannot at once change their habits and opinions ;
and the Angolese have undergone a season of inevitable
depression, and are again rising, it is hoped, in industry
and wealth. To secure this end they are above all things
called on todo what they ought to have done long since—to
make carriage-roads through the rich parts of the Pro-
vince; and to complete those canals which will connect the
Coanza with the port of Loanda—thereby giving good water-
carriage to some of the most productive districts of the
country. There can be no lack of labourers in Angola;
and it would be wise were the authorities to allow some
bodies of their slaves to purchase their freedom by the con-
struction of public works. No matter how constructed,
the moment there are good roads, and good water-carriage,
PREFATORY LETTER. XXXV
agriculture and productive industry will improve rapidly;
and Angola will throw out crops a hundred-fold the value
of what it now produces.
There is an enormous disproportion between the num-
bers of the coloured and white men of Angola. Dr Living-
stone mentions one district in which out of nearly 14,000
there are only ten white men. What is the proportion of
free half-castes is not stated. In other parts of the province
the relative numbers are, of course, very widely different.
The state of morals under such a condition of society must
inevitably be low. But let no Englishman too proudly
blame the rulers of Loanda for their slave-gangs, or for
their having sometimes, perhaps, shut their eyes to a smug-
gling export of negroes from their coast. I am old enough
to remember the dreary time when the brave indignant
oratory of Fox, the majestic eloquence of Pitt, and the
silver voice of Wilberforce (speaking like an angel in the
cause of mercy and truth and national honour), were heard
in vain in St Stephen’s Chapel; when, year after year, the
representatives of free England sanctioned and commended
a vile unchristian trade in the flesh and blood of the men
of Africa, Vain were the pleadings of Christian love and
national honour, when the children of mammon were allowed
to hold the balance while the debate was going on. Yet our
temptation to wrong was not comparable to that of the
governors of Loanda. They inherited a bad polity, which
put them in moral fetters; from which they had not then,
nor have they now, the power of gaining an instant free-
dom. But they have the power to mitigate the horrors of
the imported slave-gangs, and perhaps to put them down:
and now that there is an opening, we may hope that they
will effectually encourage a humane, free commerce with
central Africa.
They brought with them to Loanda the sentiments of
honour and humanity they had been taught in Christian
5—2
XXXV1 PREFATORY LETTER.
Europe, and to which every man, whatever may be his pri-
vate life, professes an allegiance. But when they find them-
selves in a new position and entangled in a policy which their
hearts cannot approve of, they may soon learn to lull their
conscience into a belief that the African is in a better con-
dition with them than he would be were he left to the free-
dom of his own country. Were this true it would be but a
worthless atom in helping us to decide upon a great moral
question that still agitates a part of the Christian world.
Unrestrained power is a corrupter of the human heart;
and the principles of the Gospel (as is proved by the social
history of all the older portions of Christendom) are at war
with an institution that makes one part of the human family
the bond-slaves of the other. The Son of God, who came
down to save us, tells us in as plain words as were ever
put on record —that the humblest man living is our
brother—that if he be ignorant we are bound to teach him
— if fierce and sinful, to soften his heart, to lead him to
better knowledge and better hopes—and thus to raise him,
through Divine help, to his true resting-place as a member
of the great human family. To act in direct antagonism to
these pure elements of Christian truth is to make a profane,
hypocritical mockery of our religion—to shew ourselves
the tyrants over those who have God’s title to our good-
will and love—to prove ourselves the bond-slaves of the
minister of evil.
The true Christian policy of Angola is steadily and
honestly to mitigate a great existing evil—to stop the slave-
gangs from coming down among them from the forests of
Africa, like the blast of a moral pestilence—with all pru-
dence and humanity to change slavery into serfdom, and
serfdom, at length, into civil freedom. Taking the lowest
ground, and keeping the moral question in abeyance, the
State would not lose but gain by such a gradual change;
while the African is encouraged to win his freedom by
PREFATORY LETTER. XXXVll
labouring at the construction of public works, which are
most needful to the wealth and prosperity of the country.
This at least we may affirm, that no state in Christendom,
whatever be its extent, and be it weak or strong, can ever
be truly great and glorious while it willingly retains and
upholds domestic slavery as an element of its polity. Its
profession of religion would, in such a case, be nothing
better than a national hypocrisy; and it would but mock
us if it dared to boast of its social freedom. The advocates
of good and evil—of Christian freedom and social slavery
—cannot be so blended in the institutions of any nation
under heaven, as to work well together (like the antagonist
muscles of the human body) in maintaining its uprightness
and strength. Either the evil will overcome the good, or
the good will reform the evil. But the victory, on which
ever side it lean, may not be won without a long con-
flict: and while the champion of slavery is able to hold up
his head, what can we expect from him but fierce manners
in the place of Christian gentleness? The man who has
so hoodwinked his conscience as to be without any moral
sympathy with the purest elements of Christian truth and
love, will be ready to poison the fountains of legislation,
and to laugh to scorn those laws of nations which have long
supported the weak against the strong—which have mitigated
the horrors of war, and have helped to keep in remembrance
not the form only but the very substance of truth and
justice even among the bitterest trials of humanity.
The power of Christian truth cannot be felt by the man
who denies the Divine authority of its author. There are
men, who deny the being of a God, and in His place pre-
tend to set up man as the creature of their idolatry. And
they do this while they are robbing him of hopes that are
the solace of his life, and debasing his understanding by
taking from it all true nobility and trying to cheat it of those
in-born powers by which it rises to the apprehension of the
XXXVI PREFATORY LETTER.
highest truth. Nor do they stop here. They tell him that
he is of a beastly origin, and only the king of brutes. Like
brutes he is to live and die—a mere machine, ruled by a
stern physical necessity, and therefore without moral blame
even in his most atrocious violations of human law. What
is this but to snap asunder the sacred bonds by which
men have been held together in social union? To such men
I have nothing to say. My remarks apply to those men
only who call themselves Christian freemen, and ought
therefore to be bound by the sacred principles which be-
long to that high name.
The great sin of the slave-trade was not in the horrors
of the middle passage, or in the evil and degradation en-
dured by the poor African in the Colonies on the western
side of the Atlantic. Its greatest mischief was in its origin. ©
It set man against man, and tribe against tribe; and has
for centuries been the great barrier against all progress of
civilization, and all diffusion of Christian light through wide
portions of a great Continent: while by a hideous moral
transformation, it made some of the strongest nations of
Christian Europe the tempters, the apologists, the cowardly
accessories of a set of lawless savages and brutal murderers.
If a man, who knew nothing of the miserable history
of Africa, were told of a map which represented the moral
condition of its inhabitants by shades of colour; he would
naturally look for the brightest colours on the coast-line,
where the negro must have learnt wisdom by his commerce
with the civilized men of Europe. But alas, how different
has been the teaching! Where the Christian has most
trodden, his footsteps have been too often traced in colours
of blood: and where he has planted Colonies on the coast of
Africa, we do not see a zone of bright colours fringing the
frontier lines; but we do see, in their stead, great waves as
black as ebony spreading themselves far inwards, till they
are lost in the better tints of the central continent. Such
PREFATORY LETTER. xxxix
is the moral map; and its stygian colours are a foul disgrace
to civilized Christian Europe.
Leaving this long digression let us rejoin our Author
and his party on the east side of the Quango, and follow
them across that broad dark wave which disfigures the
moral tints of Africa. They proceeded nearly along their
previous track till they had passed the Mosamba ridge; and
they were accompanied by some half-caste traders, who car-
ried “aquardente” with them—a baneful article of commerce.
The country was still unfriendly; but they were strong and
well provided ; and, being more quick of foot, they soon left
their slave-dealing companions far behind, and struck to-
wards the north-east—along a main slave-dealers’ track
that leads to Cabango, and thence to Matiamvo the capital
of Londa.
While making their way along this track, through
dreary forests and dismal swampy plains, Dr Livingstone
was smitten down by a dangerous fever, and for twenty-
two days was unable to move forward. His companions
during this delay contrived to embroil themselves with
the head man of the village, and had to pay a gun and
some cloth as a peace-offering. Encouraged by this suc-
cessful extortion, the Natives, not long afterwards, attacked
and fired upon them after they had proceeded on their
journey, and our Author’s courage was again put to trial.
Forgetting his fever, he staggered quickly to the place of
danger ; and there “with a stern visage, ghastly from sick-
ness,” and with a six-barrelled revolver presented to the
breast of the Chief, he soon brought about a revolution in
the martial spirit of his opponents and was allowed to pass
on. “ The Macololo made the woods ring while telling how
brilliant their conduct before the enemy would have been,
had hostilities not been brought to a sudden close.” Nor
was this a mere noisy boast; for they were a set of gallant
fellows, and had been well-trained by Sebituane their for-
mer leader.
xl PREFATORY LETTER.
While making slow way from his state of great exhaus-
tion, he was glad for a short season, to rejoin the half-caste
traders; but he never lost a day in which he did not no-
tice the manners of the Natives and the productions of
the country. As they went northwards the landscape im-
proved, the inhabitants were more numerous, and the food
was of better quality. The continued use of manioc pro-
duced a disease in the eyes; but by mixing the oleaginous
ground-nut with it they had a more hearty and wholesome
food. Though the prevailing use of fire-arms had driven
the larger game into the forest they saw tracks of the
eland and the hippopotamus high up among the branches
of the Casai. Their most northern point was Cabango—a
large village composed of native huts, and a few miserable
square houses belonging to the half-caste slave agents of
the Portuguese traders of Cassange. The cruelty of these
agents provoked the indignation of the whole party.
“They have no hearts,’ exclaimed the Makololo, “and why
do the slaves let them?”
The spirit of enterprize never left Dr Livingstone so long
as his strength lasted; and he at one time thought of fol-
lowing the track to Matiamvo; hoping from that capital to
work his way to the Zambesi. But neither he nor his com-
panions were well-acquainted with the Balonda dialect; and
the large stock of goods with which they had left Loanda was
rapidly wasting away. They, therefore, turned from Ca-
bango towards the south-east; and through gloomy forests,
and open swampy plains, journeyed on towards the water-
shed of Dilolo. While away from any slave-track they
were received with kindness; and they met with one
simple-hearted tribe who refused to eat beef when it was
offered them ; because “the cows,” they said, ‘“were human
beings, and lived at home like men.”
It was the winter of the southern hemisphere, and
there were great ranges of temperature between night and
day among these swampy uplands. In the day the thermo-
PREFATORY LETTER. xli
meter would range from 80° to 96°, and sink in the night
to 58° or 60°; and he mentions a case when it sank to 42°,
Before they gained the water-shed, they were once more
among the slave-dealers ; and at Kawawa they met with a
treacherous Chief who called out his people to attack them.
With his usual presence of mind, and by a new exposure
of his person at the point of danger, Dr Livingstone held
the savages at bay; and not without difficulty prevented
his own men from opening fire upon them.
After crossing the Casai they again entered the great plain
(about 4000 feet above the level of the sea) which is the
water-shed between the Congo and the Zambesi. They no
longer had any fear of interruption from the slave-dealer:
but two days afterwards (June 5th) their leader was struck
down (though but for one day) by his twenty-seventh
attack of fever. Next day they moved forward, and on the
8th of June regained their old track near the Lake Dilolo.
They had still a long and weary way to travel; but they
were among friends, and wholesome animal food soon
became abundant. Once more they met with a hearty wel-
come from Katema and Shinte, and were this time able to
gratify those Chiefs with ample presents.
I need not dweil upon their journey down the Leeba, and
down the Barotse valley. As their return was little ex-
pected, their canoes had been removed; but they easily
had them replaced. One of the party afterwards deserted
them to join his father; but this was “done when all
danger was over. Down the Barotse valley their progress
was a continued ovation; yet they had little now to offer
in return for most ample kindness. ‘‘The many delays,”
says Dr Livingstone, “caused by sickness, made me ex-
pend all my stock, and all the goods my men procured
by their own labour at Loanda; and we returned to the
Makololo as poor as when we set out.” “TI felt, he adds,
and still feel most deeply grateful, and tried to benefit
xlii PREFATORY LETTER.
them in the only way I could, by imparting the know-
ledge of that Saviour who can comfort and supply them
in the time of need; and my prayer is that He may send
His good Spirit to instruct them and lead them into His
kingdom. Even now, I earnestly long to return, and make
some recompense to them for their kindness,”
He again dwells with delight on the riches of animated
nature. The ibis was seen in large flocks. The pelicans
whitened the banks, and might be counted by hundreds.
In other places, the banks were so covered by brown-
backed ducks (Anas histrionica) that he brought down
fourteen at a single shot. Among other incidents, his ca-
noe was one day attacked and upset by a hippopotamus
which had lost its young. Finally, after a halt at Sesheke,
he arrived at Linyanti in September, bringing with him
the presents sent for Sekeletu by the authorities of Lo-
anda. His waggon and its contents (things of great
value in the eyes of the poor Makololo) were standing,
where he had left them twenty-two months before, in as
perfect safety as if they had been locked up in the magazine
of an arsenal.
Dr Livingstone never for a moment thought of procuring
oxen and harnessing them to his waggon for a return to the
Cape; which he might have done without any obvious
difficulty. He had effected his first purpose, and opened
a way for a lawful commerce with Angola. But the way
was long and quite unfit for the ox-waggon; and many
parts of the country were unhealthy. To find if possible
an easier and a better road, by descending along the
line of the Zambesi to the eastern coast of Africa, was
now his object: and Sekeletu readily listened to the plan,
and began to organize a party for the enterprise. The
Makololo were fired with a spirit of adventure. The great
Chief ordered tusks to be collected from all the country
round about, that they might be conveyed by Dr Living-
PREFATORY LETTER. xiii
stone to the coast, and exchanged for the precious goods
of England; and before long he brought together a brave
band of volunteers, who were anxious for a start down the
great river. In this band were some men of experience and
authority; and among them was Sekwebu a Chief of much
native prudence and discretion, long tried in danger, and
skilled from early life in the dialects spoken above the Delta
of the Zambesi.
Sekeletu was proud of his colonel’s uniform and of
the rich presents he had received from Loanda; and he
was delighted with the two donkeys which promised him a
new breed for domestic use, and might now and then regale
his ears with their sonorous music. The Makololo had
indeed returned with Dr Livingstone as poor as they went
out; but “we have not gone in vain,” they said, and even
before they reached Linyanti they had begun to collect
tusks of the hippopotamus for a second journey to Angola.
Such was the genuine spirit of the poor Africans.
Meanwhile Dr Livingstone was in full professional employ-
ment. He had to preach to the 7000 inhabitants of Linyanti,
to cure their sickness, and to heal their wounds; for he
was at once a missionary, a surgeon and a physician. He
remarks that the temperature of the blood of the Natives
was 98°; while the thermometer with the bulb held in his
own mouth rose to 100°. But this seems only to prove
that he was in a fever from overwork and the effects of
a burning tropical sun; while his friends were in more
natural health. He had, however, still harder work: he
had to settle many nice and angry questions in debate.
Several of the Makololo ladies had married again during
the long absence of their husbands in the expedition to
Loanda. ‘They preferred a good husband in hand to one
in the far western bush who never might come back to
them. When a single wife was in dispute, he compelled
the new husband to give her up to the man who had the
xliv PREFATORY LETTER.
first claim upon her love. The cases of polygamy were
harder to determine; and some of the offending parties
were out of reach and mocked the court. Some of the hus-
bands who had lost their wives affected to be indifferent.
«Wives are as plentiful as grass, said Mashauama, and I can
get another; she may go.” He added, however, that if he
caught the fellow he would slit his ears for him. One
important case was referred to the judgment of Sekeletu.
There were many suitors for the hand of a pretty black girl;
and to prevent all further heart-burnings he compelled them
to stand in a row; and then told her to pick out the one
she liked best. With all gravity, and with great discretion,
she selected the best-looking fellow that stood up before her.
Sekeletu had himself been an offender, in a different
way, during the absence of the western expedition. He
had done a little work in the old and honourable trade of
‘‘cattle-lifting.” Dr Livingstone privately and tenderly
admonished him; and he confessed his fault with promises
of amendment. The counsel given to our Author by old
Motibe (the father-in-law of Sekeletu) deserves notice.
“‘ Reprove your child Sekeletu,” he said, “ for this maraud-
ing. Scold him much, but don’t let others hear you.”
Without any attempt at declamation, but as the calm result
of long and intimate experience, Dr Livingstone concludes
that the poor untaught Africans “are in conduct just such
a strange mixture of good and evil as men are every where
else, and that by a selection of instances it would not be
difficult to make the people appear excessively good or un-
commonly bad.” Steady principle the poor African may
want; and he may be liable to be borne away by savage
gusts of bad passion till he has been better taught. But do
not the facts before us—be they serious or comic—prove
that he is indeed our humble brother? and that we do vile
wrong, before God and man, when we drag him from his
home, and make him a slave that he may minister to the
PREFATORY LETTER. xlv
refined appetites of Christian nations; who profess, at least,
to believe the lessons of a Saviour common to all the sons
of men?
The expedition down the Zambesi had no other base to
rest upon than the influence gained by Livingstone over
the native Chiefs. He had not a scrap of property of his
own: but he had brought with him a good name from the
Bakwains: and well had he confirmed it while among the
Makololo, by his truth, his purity of life, and his courage
in the hour of danger. Had he been found wanting in
any one of these qualities they would have despised him.
Just before they started, Mamire (who had married Seke-
letu’s mother) came to bid them farewell. ‘‘ You,” said he
to Dr Livingstone, “are now going among a people who
cannot be trusted because we have used them badly; but
you go with a different message from any they ever heard
before, and Jesus will be with you and help you though
among your enemies: and if He carries you safely, and
brings Ma-Robert back again I shall say he has conferred
a great favour upon me.” When Dr Livingstone remarked
that he had nothing of his own to give, Mamire’s answer
(translated literally) was as follows: ‘A man wishes to
appear among his friends, after a long absence, with some-
thing of his own to shew. The whole of the ivory in the
country is yours; so you must take as much as you can,
and Sekeletu will furnish men to carry it.”
The explormg party, composed of 114 men,—selected
from several distinct tribes, and with Sekwebu as their in-
terpreter among the tribes of the lower Zambesi—left Lin-
yanti on the 3rd of November, 1855. They bore with them
many tusks for sale at the end of the expedition; hoes,
beads, and other articles for exchange while on the way ;
and they had twelve oxen, three for riding, and the rest
for bearing their baggage. Everything they had was with
confiding generosity supplied by Sekeletu; and he himself,
xlvi PREFATORY LETTER.
with about two hundred of his followers, accompanied them
as far as the falls of the Zambesi.
The first part of their journey was through a low country,
which is partially inundated by the tropical floods, and forms
the north-eastern brim of the great central basin of South
Africa: but before they reached Kalai the country was
greatly changed. Beautiful hills and woodlands rise, on
both sides of the river, to a considerable elevation ; and still
higher hills stretch through the country further toward the
east. How then does the Zambesi work its way through
these hills to the Indian sea? This is an important question;
for it is certain that the river once stood at a much higher
level than its does now; and that it then helped to supply
the waters of a great central lake. Of this fact we find
ample proof in the work of Livingstone.
About ten miles below Kalai, dark clouds (looking, at a
distance, like the smoke of a burning jungle) are constantly
seen to hang over the broad bed of the river. A thundering
sound—loud enough sometimes to be heard beyond Kalai—
had seemed to Sebituane to come out of the overhanging
clouds. He had spoken of this fact in 1850, when he asked
Livingstone if he had ever seen sounding smoke. Hence
it was that the Chief called the place Mosyoatunya (smoke
sounds there)—no bad name for one of the most wonderful
spots on the face of the earth. Livingstone was not the man
to be content with a mere name. He twice descended to the
“sounding smoke”—in the second instance accompanied by
Sekeletu. His descriptions of the scene are admirable; but
too long to be extracted here. In a few words then: just
where the “sounding smoke” begins to rise towards the
sky, the great Zambesi—nearly a thousand yards wide and
with rapid and pellucid waters—suddenly disappears. It
is engulfed in a basaltic rock that forms the bed of the
river, and descends at one plunge into a deep fissure, less
than a hundred feet wide, which traverses the channel from
PREFATORY LETTER. xlvii
the right bank to the left. From the left bank the great
fissure appears to continue its course through the eastern
hills, for thirty or forty miles. What may be the phenomena
below the Victoria Falls (such is the name given to them by
their discoverer; for Sebituane had heard, but had not seen
them) must at present remain a matter of conjecture. This,
however, appears certain—that about thirty or forty miles
below the falls, the great river emerges in a comparatively low
country, and becomes navigable for canoes (with the possi-
ble exception of one or two rapids) down to the head of the
Delta; and thence down the many channels by which it makes
its way to the sea. To examine this part of its course (if
possible by help of a Steam Launch—the Ma-Robert—and
may God prosper it and its good crew!) will be one of the
many objects of the expedition which has now left England.
The sudden plunge of the river into the yawning chasm,
naturally produces the thundering sounds which are heard
from afar. The foaming surface of the water—seen about
a hundred feet below the top—has the whiteness of snow ;
but the rocky bottom of the chasm, to allow the onward
passage of such an enormous mass of waters, must be at a
vast depth below. A conflict between the boiling waters and
the walls of rock, through which they force their way, pro-
duces great volumes of spray which rise high above the
river, and are then condensed into clouds and drifted before
the wind. But the spray is not uniformly diffused above
the great fissure ; for in some places it is so much condensed
as to put on the look of great jets or columns, among which
the sun-beams play and produce glorious circles of pris-
matic light.
The eye of civilized man had never viewed this scene
before it was beheld by Livingstone. Some of the Natives
were struck with awe at the sight; and three Batoka chiefs
offered prayers and sacrifices to the Barimo, at three different
spots; while they listened to the roar of the waters, and
xlvili PREFATORY LETTER.
beheld the bright bows of colour in the rising spray.
Nature herself seems to have rejoiced in her own work-
manship ; for she has adorned it with the most gorgeous
dress of tropical vegetation. The huge giant of the forest,
the baobab—groups of palm-trees with their feathery leaves
projected on the sky or on the rising vapour—the silvery
mohonone, in form like the cedar of Lebanon—the dark
motsouri, in form resembling the cypress, and dotted over
with scarlet fruit—many other trees, like the great spread-
ing oaks, elms, and chestnuts of England—each in its own
way, and all combined together, as if in nature’s revelry,
helped to decorate the banks of the Zambesi and the Falls
of Victoria.
Before leaving the subject, it deserves remark that the
chasm which receives the Zambesi does not seem to have
been much changed since its first formation ; and the rock,
over which the water tumbles into the chasm, has not been
worn down, more than two or three feet, by the attrition
of the materials which have been drifted over it.
On the 20th of November the generous Chief bad adieu
to the party and returned with his attendants to Linyanti.
Dr Livingstone and his 114 companions then left the Zam-
besi, and struck northwards into the hilly country of the
Batoka. Their whole journey to Tete—the nearest Por-
tuguese town—may be divided into three periods: Ist,
Their journey from Kalai till they again touched on the left
bank of the Zambesi. 2ndly, Their course along the left
bank, till they were enabled to crossthe great river. 3rdly,
Their journey from the right bank of the river, till they
reached Tete, when their perils were over. The first period
employed them about six weeks.
In their way through the Batoka country they saw many
rude proofs of the ferocity of the old inhabitants, who were
in truth a set of brutal savages. Their subjection and par-
tial extermination by Sebituane is considered by Livingstone,
PREFATORY LETTER. xlix
spite of its horrors, to have been a great gain to central
Africa. The conquering Chief was a rough and classical
reformer: for he called it peace when he had made the land
a solitude. The country they passed along was delight-
ful. They had not now (as in their western journey) to
make their weary way through tall reeds reaching above
their heads, and through swamps and tangled forests; but
they trod on soft green pastures, decorated here and there
by gorgeous tropical trees and partial woodlands; and con-
stantly, as they crossed the higher elevations, they had
panoramic views of great extent and admirable beauty.
The whole region was broken into a succession of ridges—
running north and south, or north-east and south-west—
and, almost without being conscious of it, they gradually
rose to the height of 5,000 feet above the level of the sea—
among bosses of granite which pierced through the gneiss
and mica-slate, and tilted up the beds ata high angle, so as to
make them dip from the protruding rock.
The temperature was high, for they were travelling
under a tropical sun, and during the summer of the southern
hemisphere: and in an unknown land—among wild beasts
and savages—they could not make their way by night. But
the air of the uplands was fresh and invigorating ; and they
were all in high health and spirits, well fed, and without
fever, headache, or sense of fatigue. In short, says Dr
Livingstone, “the climate is as healthy as that most healthy
of all healthy climates,’ which extends for several hundred
miles on the eastern skirt of the great Kalahari desert. The
country improved in beauty as they approached the Kafue—
one of the larger tributaries of the Zambesi. After they had
passed that river their labour increased. The climate be-
came more oppressive; and they had to work their way
through valleys and dense woods, sometimes following the
tracks made by the wild beasts. Lastly, they became aware
of their approach to the broad waters of the great river by
1 PREFATORY LETTER.
flocks of water-fowl, which darkened the air; and they at
length reachedits left bank at the beginning of the year (1856).
In the hills and fine uplands through which they had
passed, the baobab lifted its huge limbs into the air, and
they saw many other trees, with which they had become
familiar in Loanda. Their senses were also greeted by
beautiful fruit-trees, which gave them healthy and refresh-
ing food. Many of these trees are probably of new species.
Once for all (including some that were seen on the south
bank of the Zambesi), I may mention the fruit-trees our Au-
thor most frequently alludes to. ‘The moshuka with its apples
tasting like a pear, and “found in prodigious quantities as
they went along.” The manéko producing a curious fruit
with a horny rind; the interior filled with glutinous juice
and sweet like sugar. The masuka in some places covers the
ground and yields a pleasant fruit, which gave them a con-
stant supply of food: and the molondo, a smaller allied spe-
cies, had a delicious fruit. The mokoronga, a forest-tree
producing a dark plum, with purple juice, which is eagerly
devoured by the elephants, and by the Natives who call it
“pure fat.” It is at once wholesome and delicious. The
Author also found, onthe north bank of the Zambesi, mango-
trees and tamarinds in abundance. The fruit is collected for
the Chiefs; but the trees are not propagated or cultivated.
He saw also the motondo, resembling a tamarind. It is a
useful timber-tree, and yields a good fruit as large as a
walnut. He also mentions a species of gigantic fig-tree:
but I must leave this subject—a glorious one for the bota-
nists of the new expedition.
The soil among the glades and lawns of the delicious
uplands is spangled with flowers. Among them he describes
the zebra-hoof—a flower as white as the snow-drop, which
droops and dies day by day in the sun, and is renewed by a
fresh crop of blossoms every morning. The ground seems
quite alive with the stridulous piercing notes of crickets and
é)
PREPATORY LETTER. hi
grasshoppers. The air hums joyfully with the sound of
insects on the wing, and among them the wailing note of the
musquito is not heard. Nor are the birds less vocal. The
cheerful chirp of the honey-guide was heard on all sides ;
and during their long journey it was often followed by the
Makololo (comprehending under this word all the Africans
of the party), and seldom led them wrong. Every evening
and morning the birds of the forest joined in full chorus,
and some of them had fine loud notes. One of them, called
by the Natives Mokwa-reza (“the son-in-law of God”),
cries pula, pula (or rain, rain), a note of good omen. The
eroaking of the crow is of bad omen; for “it is supposed
(as our Author tells us) to seal up the windows of heaven.”
Again (when describing the country on the south bank
of the Zambesi) he tells us that the birds are not generally
wanting in the power of song: “the chorus or body of
song is not much less in volume than it is in England;
but it is not so harmonious, and it sounded as if the birds
were singing in a foreign tongue.” It is not that the
African birds are wanting in song, “but that they have
lacked poets to sing their praises ;” and there are, he adds,
comparatively few with gaudy plumage, like the birds of
Brazil. “The majority of them have a sober dress.”
But what most of all delighted his companions was the
fertility of the soil, and the abundance of large game.
Elephants, zebras, gnus, buffaloes and antelopes, swarmed
among some of the glades which they passed through ; and
droves of red pigs (the Potamocherus) were seen near the
mouth of the Kafue. The habits of the animals—the way
in which the different herds went under the guidance of a
prudent leader—the fierce charge of the buffalo, sometimes
seen with its guardian birds(Textor erythrorhynchus) sitting on
its withers, which like true sharp-sighted guardians are ready
to sound the alarm, while the dull-sighted beast is feeding
—the clumsy gestures and sports of the elephants; their di-
6—2
na PREFATORY LETTER.
minished size in these latitudes, and their enormous tusks—
the spear-hunts of the Makololo, and their songs of triumph
when a huge beast is down—all these things passed in
review before Dr Livingstone. Again and again he wished
for some photographic power to fix in true stature and pro-
portion these aspects of a grand and untamed nature. At
their resting-places, during night, they often heard the
roaring of the lion: but they did not fear him; for he is a
cowardly brute, and had plenty of timid animals to prey
upon in the woodlands round about. Before turning to
another subject, I may remark that the lordly giraffe and the
ostrich are wanting in the fauna north of the Zambesi, and
have not so much as a name im the language of the people.
The white rhinoceros has also disappeared from that region ;
and the double-horned black species has become very rare.
South of the Zambesi the black species is more common,
and (like the buffalo) may be seen with its attendant guard-
bird (Buphaga Africana). Before they reached the Zambesi
they saw a female elephant followed by three calves: and
again (as in the Barotse valley) the female hippopotamus
was seen swimming in the waters with her young crouch-
ing between her ears, or resting on her withers.
While describing the country as a tropical paradise, we
must not forget the people. The Batoka are thinly scattered ;
and the allied tribes, between them and the Kafue, are in a
low grade of civilization. But the poor people are hospit-
able in their own way, and did their best to help the tra-
vellers. Their provisions are abundant; for the soil is
most grateful, and the climate is such as to secure a good
return for what is sown in it. The whole country abounds
in monstrous ant-hills (like those seen the year before)—
often fifty feet in diameter and now and then twenty feet
high—which supply the best garden ground in the coun-
try; and there the Natives plant their maize, pumpkins.
and tobacco.
PREFATORY LETTER. iii
There was, however, one single exception to the kind-
ness of the Natives. At the river Dila (not quite half way
between Kalai and the Kafue) they were among a tribe
of men—not perfectly subdued by Sebituane—who probably
suspected them to be enemies. There was the risk of a
night-attack ; and one frantic fellow (driven mad perhaps
by smoking a kind of cannabis—a vile habit among the
poor Africans) came and brandished his battle-axe before
Livingstone; who with his usual courage and humanity,
and well supported by Sekwebu, soon put the madman on
one side, and prevented all further mischief. In the rest of
their journey to the Zambesi they met with nothing but
good-will.
The forms of salutation among the Natives are base
and grovelling; and among some of the tribes towards
the Kafue the men go in perfect nudity, and sneer with
much contempt at the unmanly custom of wearing any
covering. The women, however, wear a more modest dress,
though they are by no means prodigal in drapery.
All the people of this country are, at a certain age,
deprived of their upper incisors. Sebituane and Sekeletu
have made this vile mutilation unlawful. But no matter!
Fashion here, as elsewhere, drives law and reason to the
winds: and as soon as the children arrive at a certain age
they are, somehow or other, sure to go abroad without their
upper front teeth. When Dr Livingstone asked them why
they did this ; they answered, we make ourselves look like
cows: with our upper teeth in front our mouths would look
like the mouths of zebras. A pretty reason certainly ; and
we may well doubt whether a China woman could give a
better reason for her cramped feet, or an English woman
for the iron hoops with which she girds her lower person.
The country they had left behind, among the abrupt
valleys branching from the Kafue, not only abounded in
what our Author calls “the large game,’ but was well-
liv PREFATORY LETTER.
peopled. Every available spot between the river and the
rugged hills was under cultivation. The gardens were pro-
tected by pitfalls to keep off the night-attacks of the hip-
popotamus; and many of the villages were placed in the
deep recesses of the successive ridges, as if the poor Natives
had some reason for hiding themselves from a marauding
enemy. The cultivated soil is of rare fertility, ‘‘ and all the
Natives” (says our Author) “are fond of trade; but they
have been taught none by the stranger, save that in ivory
and slaves ;’ and when he has come among them, it had
too often been as a treacherous and brutal ruffian prepared
to murder them and carry off their children. Teeming with
riches and natural beauty as the country was, one horrid
pest—the T'setse—had come into some portions of it, and
several of our traveller’s oxen were bitten. It was, there-
fore, the more needful that they should hurry on; as they
could not, after the poison of the insect, long count upon the
useful service of their cattle.
The night before they reached the Zambesi they halted
under a baobab-tree, in the hollow of which there was a
lodging for twenty men: and we need not wonder at this
when we remember that the Author, in an early part of his
volume, has described one of these trees which, when mea-
sured three feet above the ground, proved to be eighty-five
feet in circumference. While approaching the great river
they had to make their way through a kind of jungle or
low woodland, in which the elephants were so tame that
they had, by shouts and gestures, to drive them out of the
way: and when they were passing through one of the more
open glades a drove of buffaloes came trotting down to look
at the oxen and their riders: nor could they be driven off
till one of them had been shot for his insulting familiarity.
Its beef was excellent. But in truth, neither Livingstone
nor his men were nice; and during their laborious daily
work, they had a craving for animal food, and ate freely,
PREFATORY LETTER. lv
whenever they could, of any grass-devouring beast that fell
in their way. They were glad to eat a tough steak from
the rump of a zebra, when they could get nothing better ;
they rejoiced over the carcass of an elephant; and they
swallowed, with delight, a fat slice from the flitch of a young
hippopotamus. Jat, in the language of the African, is the
word that describes everything that is good. The air was
filled with water-fowl, and out of them, had their ammunition
been more abundant, they could easily have secured a meal
for the whole party. “I never saw a river,” he tells us,
“with so much animal life around it, and, as the Barotse
say, its fish and fowl] are always fat.”
At length his eyes were gladdened by the sight of the
great river, and he found: its waters of a dark reddish
brown colour—an impurity no doubt derived from the
neighbouring hills through which it and its tributaries had
worked their way. Above the Victoria Falls the waters of
the Zambesi are clear and colourless; and so are all its
branches, as above stated, which come soaking out of the
vast upland bogs. It appeared broader now than it did
above the falls. A man might in vain try to make his
voice heard across it; and it ran at the rate of four miles
and a half an hour.
He is careful in his use of definite numbers; and he
often cautions the reader while he is only guessing. Thus,
his latitudes were observed daily when the sun was visible.
His longitudes were given by the chronometer; but he
tested them by lunar observations whenever he had a good
opportunity. In like spirit, and always seeking for a
good numerical result, he made an approximation to the
full speed of the ostrich by counting its steps with his stop-
watch in hand; and then—having by actual measurement
upon the sand, got the average length of each step—he
found that it could run, for a short time, at the rate of
twenty-six miles an hour,
lvi PREFATORY LETTER.
They were now commencing the second part of their
journey, between ridges of hills which flank the north and
south banks of the great river, and are supposed to be about
fifteen miles apart. The climate was changed: there was
an oppressive steaminess in the air, and the rain that de-
scended on them felt hot. In the glorious fresh uplands,
the rain would bring down the thermometer to 68° or 72°:
but down in the valley of the Zambesi, they found that its
lowest range, in the coolest shade, was from 82° to 86° at sun-
rise—from 96° to 98° at mid-day—and 86° at sun-set; and
to increase their discomforts they were attacked by an in-
sect with a sting like a musquito.
Still, their daily labours were not without some charms.
Their pathway through the bush was along the tracks of
wild animals; “and of such there was no lack ; for buffaloes,
zebras, pallahs, water-bucks, wild-pigs, koodoos, and black
antelopes were in abundance;” and they shot a second
buffalo as he was rolling himself in the mud. While they
travelled eastward they found a simple-hearted and _ hospit-
able people; and day by day they saw the men, women and
children working and weeding among their grain and garden
grounds; and as they journeyed onwards, from village to
village, they were cheerfully supplied with guides to shew
them the way through the thinnest parts of the jungle.
Some of the superstitions of the poor Natives are indeed
barbarous; and the women have some strange forms of per-
sonal decoration. For not content with the pouting lip that
nature has given in such bounty to the African, they enlarge
it by the insertion of a shell. When Sekwebu was asked
the reason for this decoration, he gravely answered ; “these
women want to make their mouths look like the mouths of
ducks.” A pretty reason certainly ; and well it is that the
limits of African fashion are bounded by the forms of
created life. In Europe, the boundless views of fashion will
not submit to any such mean, servile limitations.
PREPATORY LETTER. lvii
At Selote they were for the first time presented with
rice—“ the white man’s food”—and for the first time they
were asked for a slave in exchange. These were words of
evil omen; and soon afterwards they met with signs of
hostility and defiance: but they were a strong party; and
Livingstone, helped by his right-hand man Sekwebu, soon
found means to pacify the Natives. Nor does he blame
them much: for they might well suspect treachery from a
party, headed by a strange white man, such as they had
never seen before. They knew, alas! too much of trea-
chery; for marauding scoundrels had at different times
come up from Tete, and swept away some of the inhabitants
from the islands and river-banks: and not long before, an
Italian ruffian with some well-armed followers had come on
the like mission. Fortunately he had been cut off, while
on his return, and his captive slaves set free.
Game continued abundant; and they were obliged to
slaughter some of the tsetse-bitten oxen that had gradually
become unfit for work. Before crossing the broad river
Loangwa they met with still more decided proofs of trea-
chery, and were in great risk of an attack. But they were
well prepared ; and Livingstone’s courage, followed by words
of peace and good-will, gradually won the Natives over.
The party crossed the river; and they then parted with
their ferry-men under some fine tamarind and mango-trees.
Here they found the ruins of a Portuguese station; and we
can neither wonder at its ruins, nor mourn over its fallen
church, when we know that it was simply a military position
for the defence of dealers in slaves and ivory. Its position
is, however, noble—well fitted as a settlement for Chris-
tian dealers who wish to improve the Natives in the honest
arts of peace.
After leaving the Loangwa, the last of the riding-oxen
failed, and they had all to travel on foot; and their diffi-
culties were increased by the sickness of one of the party
lvill PREPATORY LETTER.
—a man of the Batoka tribe. His complaint was mysterious
and beyond the Doctor’s skill. Is it not possible that the bite
of the tsetse, which killed the cattle, may have also killed the
poor African? While moving eastward through the bush, a
herd of buffaloes came driving through their ranks and tossed
one of the men; but by careful treatment he was not long
in recovering. They then journeyed ‘on through holmes
and river-terraces—often gazing on the herds of buffaloes
and antelopes which were quietly grazing in the meadows
below them. They met with maize as fine as any that is
grown in America, and all of them were amply supplied
with what they stood in need of. “In few. other countries
(says the Author), would 114 sturdy vagabonds be supplied
as we were by the generosity of the head-men and the
villagers.” Though far away from home they were (one
excepted) strong and in brave spirits: and the jolly crew
joined in dance with the villagers. The young women
were delighted, ‘‘ Dance for me (they said), and I will grind
corn for you.” Sekwebu (who had lived on the lower Zam-
besi while a boy) cried out with joy, “Did I not tell you
(before we left Linyanti) that these people had hearts?”
Still they were in great difficulties. The fly-stricken
oxen which remained could not move two miles an hour. Tete
had been wrongly placed on their maps; for they found
that it was on the south bank of the Zambesi. All the great
Chiefs farther down on the north bank were in hostility
with the Portuguese, and certainly would not allow a
white man to pass down toward Tete on that side; and the
friendly head-men of the villages, through which they
passed, did not dare to ferry them across the Zambesi
in disobedience to the commands of the Chief, Mpende.
Through downright necessity they were, therefore, forced
to bend their way to his head-quarters in the hope of ob-
taining his leave to cross the river.
On the 23rd of January they encamped close to Mpende’s
PREFATORY LETTER. lix
station; and met with fierce signs of war. There was next
morning imminent risk of an attack; and to prepare his
men for battle Dr Livingstone slaughtered an ox. His
men were veterans in marauding and longed for a fight. In
anticipation of a victory they talked, while the roasting went
on, of carrying off the women (in the old Roman fashion),
and of pressing their enemies to bear their tusks for them
to the coast. ‘We shall now, they said, get both corn and
clothes in plenty.”
But this was not the plan of Livingstone. He had no
fear of the result of a fight: but by handing a leg of the ox
as a peace-offering to Mpende he obtained a parley. I am
not an enemy, he said, to two old men, sent by the Chief;
I am a Lekoa (an Englishman). ‘ We thought you were a
Mozunga (a Portuguese), the tribe with which we have
been fighting.” Fortunately they had only seen half-caste
slave-dealers ; and when Livingstone shewed them his skin,
they were convinced that he spoke truth, and added, “Ah!
you must be one of that tribe that has a heart to the black
men.” There was then a new discussion. Sekwebu was
sent to Mpende as Livingstone’s representative. Some of
the leading men were convinced before; and Sekwebu’s
eloquence and prudence soon won over the great Chief,
who believed that the white stranger who had come among
them was a true Lekoa—“ one of the friendly white tribe.”
His heart was won, and from that moment he gave them
all the help in his power. Most thankful was Dr Living-
stone on gaining his end without bloodshed, and delighted
to find the English name thus spoken of with respect and
kindness by the poor Natives of central Africa.
Next day they were ferried across to an island; and the
day following (the 25th of January) they all passed safely
to the south bank of the Zambesi. The river is stated to be
1,200 yards wide from bank to bank; and they crossed
about 700 or 800 yards of deep water, flowing at the rate
Ix PREFATORY LETTER.
of a little less than four miles an hour; and this was by no
means the season of high water. Thus they finished, in
twenty-five days, their journey along the left bank of the
great river.
Very thankful was Livingstone when he found himself
and all his crew landed on the right bank of the Zambesi.
After he had sent back a grateful offering to Mpende, they
descended to an island belonging to the Chief Mozinkwa.
In that neighbourhood they were long detained by continued
rains, and by the illness of the poor fellow of the Batoka tribe ;
who had for some time before been carried or supported by
his companions. When his case became hopeless, the Ma-
kololo wished to leave him ; but to that proposal our Author
could not think for a moment of giving his consent. At
length the sick man died: and soon afterwards another man,
of the same tribe, deserted from them to Mozinkwa. He
did this openly—stating that the Makololo had killed both
his father and mother, and that he would not remain with
them any longer. To this Dr Livingstone made no objec-
tion—only telling him that, if he changed his mind, he
would be received back into their company ; and at the same
time telling Mozinkwa that the man must not be treated as
a slave. On the lower part of the river they were sure to
meet with many treacherous slave-dealers, and it would not
do for them to have any unwilling followers.
Considering that the men were of many tribes, and had
been used to marauding warfare, their whole conduct had
indeed been excellent; and a good discipline had been main-
tained among them by the firmness and kindness of their
leader ; who kept the tribes separate at their resting-places,
and made the head-man of each tribe responsible for the
conduct of those who were under him. Occasionally they
were visited by Natives who had been down as far as Tete;
and there had heard of the English tribe that hated and
put down the slave-trade. The English are men, said
PREFATORY LETTER. lxi
one of them, addressing himself to Sekwebu; and on such
reports Livingstone rose higher than ever in the love and
honour of his crew. Even the people who had been tempted
to sell their children felt a bitter resentment against the
slave-dealer: and when asked whether they had not received
the dealer’s goods in exchange, they said they had; but he
had done them wrong in tempting them.
About the end of January, 1856, the party were again on
their way ; and early in February, Dr Livingstone gave two
small tusks in exchange for some calico, which his men
were much in need of: for after travelling three months
through the bush they were all in a very ragged condition,
and some of the men had not a scrap of any covering. The
country became greatly changed. They were no longer
among beds of micaceous slate, but among beds of sand-
stone which, by their decomposition, made the river-fords
difficult and treacherous: and sometimes they had to make
their way over beds of a reddish clay, and a slippery adhe-
sive soil, that was very tiresome to walk upon. The ground
was, however, fertile and produced abundant crops of “ corn,
maize, millet, ground-nuts and pumpkins.” When away
from the river—which is the great slave-mart—and not them-
selves suspected, they were received with every mark of
good-will. Provisions were supplied with cheerfulness and
in abundance, while they had little or nothing to give in re-
turn. In the villages many of the huts are built on raised
platforms to protect the pecple from the lions and hyznas
—two cowardly beasts, but sometimes dangerous in the
night; and the lions are extremely abundant, being pro-
tected from the hunter’s weapons through a strange super-
stition before alluded to (p. xvill).
Hoping to find an easier pathway, and wishing to avoid
all treacherous slave-dealers, they afterwards struck into the
interior: and on the 13th of February they came to the village
of a head-man called Nyampungo, offered him the last piece
xi PREFATORY LETTER.
of cloth they had, and asked for provisions and a guide.
The Chief received them with courtesy, and conferred with
his council. He then returned the cloth, and gave rice to
' Livingstone, and told him to send his men to seek food
among the villagers. A venerable old man, the father-in-
law of the Chief, came with some others to the tent, and
examined the books, and other curiosities they found there,
and inquired about their use. They spoke of praying to de-
parted Chiefs; but the thought of praying to God was new
to them ; and on this subject “they listened to what they
heard with reverence.” They are anxious to keep cattle, but
are prevented by the prevalence of the tsetse; and being igno-
rant of the cause of their misfortune, they asked for medicine:
“give it us, they said, that it may enable us to keep them.”
This kind of superstition is universal in central Africa.
Next morning (the 14th) they left their hospitable friend,
who had provided them with guides. They were led to
a part of the country that was more free from the jungle,
and were then enabled to walk on in comfort. Having tasted
nothing for several days but grain, they had a great longing
for animal food, and kept a sharp look out for some large
game ; and after a few hours march, they spied an elephant.
They instantly attacked him, and after a splendid spear-
battle, gallantly brought him to the earth. While the
battle was going on, one of the native Banyai, who hap-
pened to be present, emptied his snuffbox on the ‘ground
as an offering to Barimo; and one of Nyampungo’s men,
who was at Livingstone’s side, uttered loud prayers for the
success of the combat. “I admired,” he says, “the belief
they all possessed of the existence of unseen beings; and I
prayed that they might yet know that one benignant Being
who views us all as His own.”
After the elephant was down, and while the Makololo
were wildly dancing round his body, the man who had
made the snuff-offering remarked: “I see you are travel-
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixiil
ling with a people who do not know how to pray, I there-
fore offered the only thing I had, in their behalf, and the
elephant soon fell.” The travelling crew were indeed less
religious; and they thought (like Hector) that the best of
omens was to fight the enemy and beat him if they could,
One of them however said, as Livingstone came up to
them, “God gave it to us;” and then turning round ad-
dressed the carcass—“ Go up there! men are come who
will kill and eat you.”
But the feast could not begin that day: for by a law in
the country south of the Zambesi, the side of every beast, killed
in hunting, which first comes tothe ground is the property of
the neighbouring Chief; and no one dares touch the carcass
till he or his agents are present to see fair play. By good
luck the upper tusk was the best ; and after a division of the
spoil it was the property of the hunters. Next day a large
party came from the Chief with corn and a fowl and some
other gifts to them for having slain the elephant on his land.
They thanked the Barimo for the hunters’ success, and then
added, “ There it is, eat and be glad!” There was a large
party to join in the noisy feast; but there was meat in
abundance for them all; and when they had retired, they
for two whole nights heard the loud laughter of great packs
of hyenas which had gathered round the offal.“ They are
Jaughing, said one of the crew, because we could not take in
the whole, and that they have plenty to eat as well as we.”
But the crew of travellers were soon to leave the simple-
hearted hospitable Natives, and to find their way through
tribes of a far different character—men thoroughly corrupted
by the slave-dealers of a Christian state, and accustomed to
acts of treachery and extortion. The men, as they journeyed
through the Mopana country, robbed many nests of the
korwe (or red-beaked hornbill), of which a long and curious
account is given; and the honey-guides enabled them to pro-
cure quantities of honey. They became utterly fool-hardy in
lxiv PREFATORY LETTER.
the pursuit—venturing into woods in spite of all remon-
strances from the Native-guides. Not one of them, however,
was caught by the lions which abound throughout these
forests. The country had still a good supply of large game,
and they one day killed six buffalo-calves out of a single
herd they met on their way. But the climate and long-
continued labour began to tell upon them, and their pro-
gress was slow. “The rains had fallen heavily, and when
they lifted up the rank grass which lay over their path,
they felt as if a hot blast had risen against their faces:
everything looked unwholesome ; but they had no fever.”
On the 20th they reached Monima’s village. He was
one of a set of great Chiefs bordering on the Portuguese
settlements, some of whom have obtained a place in his-
tory, and he was the first Chief who gave them any grounds
for fear. One of them has been called ‘the Emperor
Monomotapa:” but these men have few visible proofs of
greatness; excepting the number of their wives and their
imperial acts of extortion whenever a good occasion offers.
Livingstone calls the government “A sort of feudal repub-
licanism;” for the Chiefs are elected, and never from the
right line of descent. The choice is made out of the late
Chief’s relations—such for example as the sons of his brothers
or sisters. To keep this institution entire, the sons of the
reigning Chief have fewer privileges than the ordinary free
men. They have also training institutions at their courts,
which remind us of one of the customs of the ancient Persians.
Monima received them with a haughty courtesy, seemed
to despise their poor presents, and told them that he had
absolute power over the country in their front. But there
was no hostility in his manner; and his little son came to
see their encampment, accepted a knife, and then ran back
to bring thema small pot of honey. The council were more
hostile ; for they seemed to think that the party of travellers
must have some concealed treasures with them, and that
PREFATORY LETTER. xv
Livingstone was dealing falsely with them. However this
might be, in the evening they got up a war-dance near the
encampment; and the younger men came armed with guns,
bows and arrows and spears. No attack was however made:
the war-dance ceased an hour or two after dark, and the
armed Natives went away. Our travellers then went to
rest with their arms by their side—ready to fight in case of
a night-attack. In the course of the night Monahin, one of
the head-men, walked out, as if to look towards the village—
Saying to one of the men who was half asleep, “ Don’t you
hear what these people are saying? Go and listen!” The
poor fellow never came back. To his great sorrow Living-
stone found, in the morning, that Monahin was missing.
He does not accuse any of the Natives of treachery; but
rather believes that Monahin had walked off in a state
of stupor or insanity; and been perhaps, caught and car-
ried off by a prowling lion. Monima, with apparent
honesty, joined in their sorrow, and sent his men to search
in all the neighbouring gardens for the poor fellow who had
strayed away. All search was, however, vain; and the
Chief then dismissed the party in peace, and gave them
guides to the next Chief, Nyakoba.
In a few hours, the guides led them to the Chief’s vil-
lage. He suspected them of falsehood; but they escaped
trom him, more easily than they expected, by giving him
“some beads taken from Sekwebu’s girdle, and by pro-
mising to send him four yards of calico from Tete.” While
on their way they had met a witch-doctor, who had been
sent for by Monima; whose many wives had that day, under
the prescription of this grave doctor, to swallow a poisonous
infusion used by him as an ordeal. The poor women, in
full faith, and knowing that they are innocent, swallow it
readily ; and will even express a strong desire to try the
test. If it make them sick, all is well: they are innocent
and have only to kill a cock as a thank-offering: but if not
7
Ixvi PREPATORY LETTER.
sick, they are judged guilty and burnt to death. Horrible
as this custom is, we can match it by the solemn decisions
of our own courts of justice within a little more than two
hundred years of the times in which we live.
Spite of these judicial horrors, which perhaps euiit
affect the harem of the Chief, the women in this part
of the country are of great authority. “The women are
masters here,” one day remarked Sekwebu. The children
are the property of the wife and not of the husband: and
not only is he compelled to honour her by tender and
pleasant acts of obedience, but he has also to perform some
servile acts for his mother-in-law, and to appear before her
in a crouching posture. The old ladies, hearing of the
hunting skill of the Makololo, tried to secure some of them
for their daughters; but the brave fellows would not swal-
low the bait; for they had no taste for such a new form of
petticoat government. Nyakodba had granted them a guide,
who accepted a hoe as his fee; but when the hour of start-
ing came he told them “that his wife would not let him
go.” “Then give us back the hoe,” was the reply. “I
want it,” he rejoined, “and my wife won’t let me.”
To avoid the probable loss of all Sekeletu’s tusks—a
treasure they had kept sacred-—and the great risk of having
to fight their way to the Portuguese frontier, they now
resolved to avoid the villages, and to find their way as best
they could. Asa good omen the birds were singing sweetly,
and Livingstone thought that he heard the canary, as he had
done the year before in Loanda. They passed the carcass
of a lion that had been gored to death by a buffalo; and
made a winding course to avoid Katolésa (or “the Empe-
ror Monomotapa”), who seems to have little mercy on
those who fall into his hands. They all obtained an occa-
sional help from men who were on their way to the market
of Tete: and though the thermometer never rose above 94°,
the heat was far more oppressive than it had been during
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixvil
their journey through the uplands, when the temperature
was much higher than it was now. The Natives were men
of fine stature; wore their hair in a fashion like that of the
old Egyptians; were of cleanly habits; and were of a
light coffee and milk colour, which is considered a test of
beauty through all the country.
The party were compelled to make short stages; for
they were all becoming emaciated from fatigue, and one of
them was ill: and for a few days, while they avoided all
human habitations, they lived on mushrooms they picked off
the ant-hills; on bulbs and tubers the Makololo knew how
to gather; on honey; or on such fruits as the forests gave
them. They had to march over rough gravel, like the shingle
of an old sea-beach; and on the first of March they slept on
the flank of the hill Zimika, and were then, for the first time,
in sight of hills with bare rocky summits. On the previous
day they had crossed over broad dykes of syenitic porphyry
—ranging north and south.
Next day they started in good hope of reaching Tete
without further interruption ; but some villagers under the
authority of Katolosa pursued and came up with them. By
a bribe of two small tusks they were allowed to pass on—
a cheap purchase of neutrality. Had they fallen into the
hands of the great Chief (even though the Makololo had
escaped with personal freedom and Livingstone with life)
they would almost certainly have been plundered of Seke-
letu’s store of tusks, which they had with such enormous
labour brought so far across the Continent.
Only eight miles from Tete, and too much tired to sleep,
he lay down in the evening on the rough ground, and sent
some of his men, who were less fatigued, to carry his
letters from the Bishop and his other friends at Loanda to
the Commandant at Tete. About two o’clock in the morn-
ing (March 3rd) the Makololo gave the alarm of an ap-
proaching enemy. The nocturnal visitors turned out to be
7 |S
d ~
Ixvill PREFATORY LETTER.
the friends they had longed for. Two officers and a com--
pany of soldiers were come from Tete “ bringing with them
the materials for a civilized breakfast.” A good breakfast
they soon had, and our Author speaks of it in terms of
delightful remembrance—classing its comfort with that
of Mr Gabriel’s bed on the day he reached Loanda. All
fatigue vanished, and the party made their way joyfully over
the rough shingles to the Commandant’s house at Tete.
Thus they had, exactly in four months, completed their
fatiguing, and sometimes perilous journey from Linyanti.
I might here conclude this sketch of the joint labours of
our Author and his loyal followers: but there are one or two
points in the remaining chapters of the Missionary Travels
which give the last touches to his picture of the Africans.
From their long journey through the bush, and latterly from
want of food, they all arrived at Tete in a ragged and emaciated
condition. The Commandant, Tito Augusto d’Araujo Sicard,
a Major in the Portuguese Service, received them with a most
generous welcome. The 111 Makololo were immediately well
fed, clothed, and provided with a lodging in the Residence;
and they were then put ina way of building themselves huts
which might be their homes during their master’s absence in
England: and immediately (like the Makololo when they
reached Loanda) the honest fellows began to work as free
labourers in the best way they could. Major Sicard, hearing
of their skill in hunting the elephant, afterwards proposed
that they should occasionally join his servants in hunting
expeditions—a proposal which they joyfully accepted. It was
provided also, by his authority, that proper wages should be
secured for them; so that they might not go back to Linyanti
empty-handed, whenever their master might return from
England to conduct them home.
Livingstone was received as if he had been a brother—
not only by the Commandant, but by every one in authority
at Tete and other parts of the Colony. Like his men he was
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixix
in want of a dress fit for society; and he was so reduced in
strength that good food and rest were most needful for him.
He had, indeed, an ample experience of the kindness of his
Portuguese friends; for Tete and its neighbourhood formed
his head-quarters for full seven weeks, before he began to
descend the Zambesi on his way to the sea-coast. Just as he
was about to start he wrote:—‘‘I am happy to acknowledge
that I received most disinterested kindness; and I ought to
speak well for ever of Portuguese hospitality.”
So soon as he was sufficiently recovered to bear fatigue, he
visited a coal formation on the left bank of the Zambesi—
already known to the Colonists. But to him it was a very in-
teresting discovery; as he was speculating on the possibility
of a steam-boat navigation on the lower Zambesi—not merely
for an exploring party, but hereafter, it was hoped. for lawful
and humane commerce.
From Tete he also visited the site of the once flourish-
ing Jesuit establishment of Micombo. The Fraternity were
in former times “ immensely rich, but they had not there the
popularity they enjoyed at Loanda:” and perhaps the reason
of this may be found in the fact that they were keen trad-
ers in ivory and gold; and we know that these trades
had been carried on by slave-labour, or through slave-deal-
ers. But “all praise to their industry, and whatever they
did they did with all their might,” remarks Livingstone.
He is a large-hearted man: and though bred in the severe
Protestantism of his own country, and honestly receiving its
doctrine as Scriptural, he has more than once said a good
word for the Jesuits. With a rare catholicity of spirit (in
the true sense of catholicity), he can think with charity
of any Christian brother, who is willing to devote himself
heartily to the instruction and amendment of his humble
fellow-creatures.
During this interval he also accumulated much valu-
able information respecting the statistics of the Colony; its
low PREFATORY LETTER.
fertility and climate; its vegetable products, that may, perhaps,
hereafter be turned to medical and commercial use; its pro-
bable possession of a substitute for the Cinchona (or Peruvian
bark); its minerals, gems, and iron; its relations to the
country farther north—with some account of the Chiefs and
their forms of government, that nay be useful to future explorers
of the Continent. His benevolent and practical mind found
ample stores for employment. Once, however (April 4th), he
was smitten by fever: but he soon recovered “ by the use of
his wonted remedies.”
The general condition of the Colony was very gloomy.
Its supplies of wealth had been partly cut off by the abolition
of its export trade in slaves. Its gold washings had become
unproductive by some acts of strange improvidence. It had
been desolated by a fierce, ill-conducted Caftre war; which
only ended in a precarious peace, lately gained through the
prudence and humanity of Major Sicard—a man justly popular
with the Natives as well as the Colonists. And to add to
this list of misfortunes, a portion of the Delta of the Zambesi
was desolated by a terrible famine, which was prevailing at
the time of Dr Livingstone’s arrival at Tete.
At length (April the 22nd), they started on their way
down the river—the Commandant generously providing them
with three large trading canoes, under the command of Lieu-
tenant Miranda, containing ample supplies for the voyage; and
our Author had selected, for this special service, ten of his
men who were best skilled in navigating canoes. Their pro-
gress down the stream was rapid; and at Lupata the river
made its way through a kind of gorge, and was so contracted
as to be less than 300 yards wide. But its depth must there
be enormous, as the current is not too violent to prevent a
steam-boat from ascending through the narrows. ‘The upward
passage might be effected without any difficulty. Afterwards
the river spreads over a wide surface and moves down among
many islands.
PREFATORY LETTER. lxxi
In four days they descended to Senna—a Portuguese town
in a grievous state of depression, chiefly from the effects of the
Caffre war. To ascend from this place to Tete takes twenty
days; and the trading boats are sometimes to be pulled
against the stream by ropes from the shore. On the left
bank of the river, opposite Senna, are mountains of a fine
form. One of them has a hot sulphurous spring on its
north side; and, from its form, appears to be volcanic. It
is conjectured to be three or four thousand feet high: but
our Author was not permitted to visit it. After leaving
Senna they were soon floated down to Mazaro, which is at
the head of the Delta. The river immediately above this
place is more than half a mile wide, is without islands, and its
banks are covered with forests of fine timber. But the Delta
below is only an immense flat; covered with high coarse grass
and reeds, and with here and there a few mangoand cocoa-nut
trees. Through this Delta the river works its way sea-ward
in many channels.
At Mazaro our Author had his last severe attack of
fever. After being tormented some days by fever, and horribly
stung by musquitoes, he sailed through the northern branch of
the Zambesi with his African companions, and they reached
Kilimane on the 20th of May, 1856. There he found a supply
of quinine and wine, which he stood much in need of: but his
joy was embittered by hearing that a boat’s crew, commanded
by Captain MacLune and Lieutenant Woodruffe—who had
come in the ‘‘ Dart” expressly to convey him from the coast
—had been lost on the bar of the river. After returning
unfeigned thanks to God, “who mercifully watched over
him in every position, and influenced the hearts of both black
and white men to regard him with favour,” he adds, “I view
the end of the geographical feat as the beginning of the mis-
sionary enterprise. I take the latter term in its most extended
significance, and include in it every effort made for the amelio-
ration of our race.”
Ixxii PREFATORY LETTER.
Eight of his men were sent back: for the position was
very unhealthy, and provisions were still scarce; so that now
only two of his black friends continued with him. After re-
maining about six weeks—during which time he experienced the
greatest kindness from Colonel Nunes—H. M. brig “ Frolic”
arrived off Kilimane, bringing abundant supplies of every thing
he stood in need of. It was sent from the Cape, for the
purpose of offering him a passage to the Mauritius, which
he thankfully accepted. Sekwebu, the intelligent brave
Chief who had so often stood at his “ Father's” right hand in
his hour of need, was permitted to embatk with him. The
other poor African begged hard to be taken with them: and
it wrings one’s heart to read that it was the expense which
prevented Livingstone from granting the poor fellow’s earnest
wish. ‘The Author’s concluding words must here be quoted,
“T said to him, ‘ You will dieif you go to such a cold country
as mine. ‘That is nothing,’ he reiterated. ‘Let me die at
your feet!’”
Such are the men whose homes and houses the slave-
dealers steal upon; murdering some, and carrying off more
in chained gangs to the coast—there to be sold to civilized men
who disgrace their Christian name by such vile commerce.
And within the early years of this century, England and other
States of Europe, were so blinded by the lust of gain, that,
for its sake, they became the cruel accessaries and tempters
of these foul murderous dealers, and the cowardly receivers of
their plunder! Nay, during these years, some of the richest
cities in this land sent representatives to Parliament, to plead
for and to uphold these abominations; and to stigmatize, with
the names of fanatics and fools, those good men, like Clark-
son, who had the Christian humanity and courage to raise
their voices against a traffic that was a foul dishonour to their
country.
Sekwebu was the only one of the African party who
embarked (July 12, 1856,) with Livingstone. He was a man
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixxili
of great natural intelligence, and had been of constant service
to his friends, by his good sense, tact, and command of the
dialects of the tribes on the lower portion of the great river.
Without his help (writes our Author), “I believe we should
scarcely have reached the coast: and I thought it would be
beneficial to him to see the effects of civilization and to report
them to his countrymen: I wished also to make some return
fur his important services.” The poor African soon began to
pick up some English; became a favourite both with the
officers and men; was much pleased with his company; and
began to have some notion of the use of the sextant. He was
however bewildered by the strange world of waters; and
being a thoughtful man, there was a constant and unhealthy
strain upon his untutored mind. The night after they reached
the Mauritius, the excitement was too much for him, and he
became insane, and seemed to think of drowning himself.
By kind words he was somewhat soothed; but the officers
proposed to secure him from mischief by putting him in irons.
To this Livingstone objected: for he could not bear to think
of having it said at Linyanti, on their return, that he had
put such a disgrace on one of his principal men, and chained
him as if he had beena slave. Perhaps this tenderness was
unfortunate; for the following evening, the poor African under
a fresh access of insanity, “‘ tried to spear one of the crew,
and then leapt overboard: and though he could swim well,
pulled himself down, hand under hand, by the chain cable;
and his body was never seen again.”
This is a sorrowful passage in the concluding page of a
large Volume filled with matter of deep interest, and written
throughout in a spirit of thankfulness, cheerfulness, and hope.
Perhaps some Cambridge men, when they read this passage,
will think of the joyful greeting we should have given poor
Sekwebu, had it been God’s wili that he should appear on the
platform of our Senate-House at the side of his ‘ Father.”
We should have welcomed him and greeted him as a brother
lxxiv PREFATORY LETTER.
—perhaps then as a Christian brother. But that additional
happiness was not granted us.
I have now, My dear Sir, complied with a part of your
request, and brought my sketch of our friend’s long journey
in Africa, to a close. If I have been slow in the performance
of my promise, I have a good excuse to offer you in my behalf.
When I began my letter in March, I hoped to finish it in three
or four days; and what I first wrote was, without delay,
sent to the press and set up in type. But I soon became
too ill to go on with my task; and to my sorrow, it was
interrupted for several weeks: and when I had again taken
up my pen, I was too often compelled to lay it down again,
after I had written a few sentences—sometimes insuflicient
to make a single paragraph. Thus it has happened that the
press has been very ill supplied by me, and that I have so
long detained your work from the public. The assertion may
appear strange to you; but it is true, that the weary and
sometimes painful manner in which I have been writing, has
led me into details that I hardly thought of when I began;
and has caused me to drag out my letter to an unreasonable
length, in contradiction to some of the very words which
are printed in its early pages. Certainly it is of, at least,
four or five times the length I thought of when I began. But
let me not detain you, or the reader, with any more of my
apologies.
If you ask me what have been the objects I had most
in view while I was writing the previous sketch, I reply—
that I in the first place wished to shew the true character of a
Christian hero through the clear light of his own works—
through the constancy, and faith, and courage, and wisdom,
which supported him in the midst of many dangers and
great trials; and at length brought him safely out of them,
and restored him in honour to his friends and countrymen.
Secondly, I hoped to bring out, from the graphic deline-
ations of our Author, the true character of the Natives of
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixxv
central Africa. For he knew them long and well. They
had learned to call him Father, and he loved them as his
children: and to prove that this was not, on his part, an idle
and inoperative sentiment (for words of love cost little, and
may sometimes be used to turn and grace a sentence), he is
now gone again to the Zambesi, with his wife (Ma-Robert)
and his son—willing with them to encounter fresh toils, and
to brave the climate of Africa; and hoping with them to carry
the message of peace and good-will to its poor inhabitants.
The living pictures of our Author do not skew us‘the black
man as he is seen in the base, crouching attitude of a slave.
Sometimes he may be well treated while he is in that condition
(for a good man may have the social misfortune to possess
slaves, however infamous he may count the slave-dealer) ; but
while a slave he is lable, at every turn of fortune or wanton-
ness of caprice, to be trampled on by those who are stronger
than himself. Nor is the African often painted by Livingstone
as he is seen on the outskirts of his own Continent, corrupted
and brutalized by his commerce with civilized dealers in the
flesh and blood of men—dealers who have tempted him to
abominable sin, led him to cast away all the true elements of
his humanity, and taught him nothing that deserves the name
of good. But he is here put before us in his true colours—
with all the elements of good and evil that belong to his
native, unsophisticated character. Barbarous he may be, and
liable to gusts of passion that sometimes carry him to deeds of
savage violence: ignorant he may be, and the slave of a gross
idolatry: but he is not insensible to kindness; he is not
unwilling to be taught and raised to something that belongs
to a far higher order of humanity. And take him as he is,—
untaught, ignorant of the arts of life, and the sport of savage
passion—yet has he learnt to be faithful to his leader; to be
true to his word, and honest in his dealings; and he has learnt
so much of the nature of social union, that he is loyal to his
Chief, and proud of his tribe and name; and he has many of
Ixxvi PREFATORY LETTER.
those points of character which, among civilized men, are
called honour and patriotism. Nor is he a mere fierce and
wandering hunter, like the Red-Indian of North America.
For though he does love to follow the “large game,” and to
bring back their spoils for commerce ; he also delights in agri-
culture and dwells contentedly among his gardens and fields of
corn; longs to possess new implements and arts of culture,
that he may tum them to profit; delights to improve his
stock of domestic animals, to exchange produce with neigh-
bouring Tribes, and thus to learn the arts of peace. Above
all, he longs for the improved arts and the commerce of the
white-men; whose fame has reached him, but whose persons
he has never seen. ;
Or taking the moral side of the African’s character, as
it is here delineated: —We find that he believes in God, but
does not know how to worship Him. He offers prayers to
his dead Chiefs; and if he endeavour to propitiate the Barimo,
it is by charms and vain formalities. He is a creature of
cheerful temper, and of warm affections; and if we con-
sider his humble and untaught condition, we may well
regard him as a being framed by the hand of his Creator
with good capacities, which, under Christian guidance, may
raise him to the social level of a happy and useful civilized
man.
Such is the living picture we see in the pages of our Au-
thor. And a picture of like tints, though drawn with much
less extended knowledge and far fewer touches, is found in
the excellent volume of Mr Galton, written after he had ex-
tended his travels to Ovampo. He also had seen a large tribe
of Negroes, whose hearts had not been corrupted by the
breath of the slave-dealer, and whose land had not been
blighted by his footsteps.
It is on such elements as these that the Christian merchant
and Christian missionary will have to work while they are
doing their endeavour jointly to benefit the poor African and
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixxvil
themselves. Thousands will read the Missionary Travels in
South Africa who have not heard of this letter: but should
there ever be one single reader of this letter who has not read
the admirable Volume of Livingstone ; I can only entreat him,
for his own sake, not to rest contented till he has read it, and
felt its power. Henceforth it will be a hand-book to all
Christian men—be they merchants or naturalists or philoso-
phers or missionaries, or lovers of the works of God under
whatever name—who may visit South Africa, and have true
human sympathies for its condition. Under God’s blessing,
may they all conspire together to raise the moral condition of
that basely injured country! And then we may hope that it
will rise rapidly in the scale of social life; and cease to be
(what it is now) a foul disgrace to Christian Europe.
There was a third object I had in view before I began
this letter. I wished to add my name to the long list of those
who have protested against slavery as a social institution—
believing that it is in direct antagonism with the pure lessons
of the Gospel; and that every national attempt to perpetuate
or extend it, is an act of open war against humanity and
Christian truth. And honest men, whatever be their condi-
tion, will do well at this time to enter a protest against an
insidious suggestion, which might possibly lead some of the
great states of Europe to think of importing free labourers
from Africa to their western Colonies. To do this would be
to tamper basely with those great legislative acts which form
the noblest passage of European history within the limits of
this century—acts which are a public triumph of national
honour and principle over the selfish calculations of national
gain—an open avowal that Christian nations are bound by
the same laws as Christian men; and that, if they look for
God’s blessing, they must count every gain as a loss while
it is procured at the cost of humanity, or the surrender of
one link of that golden chain that binds Christian societies
together in a holy and honourable union.
Ixxvill PREFATORY LETTER.
How, we may ask, is any European state to obtain free
labourers from the black men of Africa? Only, we may
reply with confidence, by a base bargain with the old slave-
dealers of that Continent. And were we to grant (and any
man of common sense may think this a very large grant) that
the African would be treated well, and truly dealt with as a
free labourer in the western Colonies; that would not touch
the fundamental objection to the plan. The great mischief of
slavery and slave-dealing is, I repeat, at the fountain-head.
Plausible as some men may have thought the previous sugges-
tion; it would, if carried into effect, not only help to perpetu-
ate the present terrible social evils which afflict large portions
of Africa, but it would also very greatly aggravate them; and
it might perhaps extinguish, for many years to come, those
warm hopes for the good of Africa which have been kindled
among Christian men, and have had their issue in labours of
love—the noblest example of which shines out in the Mission-
ary Travels of Livingstone.
God forbid that any state in Christendom, after it had
washed its hands of a foul, selfish and inhuman policy, should,
in the 19th century, be so grovelling as to return to it! Good
men who in their hearts believe in a superintending Provi-
dence, believe also that the moral and physical laws of nature,
are so ordained that, even in this world, good will have, in
the end, its triumph over evil. But when that end is to be,
and by what alternations of good and evil it is to be brought
about, no mortal man can tell: and it is a vain task for
him to strain his sight in trying to look through the dark-
ness that clouds the future. He knows, too, that unmixed
good there never can be in this world, while it is held together
by those great laws to which all nature, moral as well as
physical, is compelled to yield obedience.
Still a Christian lives in hope; and with God’s help can
do his duty manfully and cheerfully: not like one who is
dismayed and stupified by the many evils that he sees around
PREFATORY LETTER. lxxix
him; but who labours like a true-hearted soldier of the Cross;
and knows that where there is ignorance and misery it is his
duty to meet them and subdue them by deeds of love. And
after all, is it not true that good men, labouring honestly on
the principles of the Gospel, have done, and are now doing,
much good work in humanizing the world? Speaking of the
past, it is absolutely certain that the highest civilization of
man, since Christ came into the world, has been reached by
those nations which have accepted (at least nominally) the
great doctrines of His religion, and professed to make His
benevolent precepts the guide of their polity. Strangely and
disgracefully as they often swerved from their holy guide, it
is still absolutely certain, that all other civilization sinks into
moral darkness. when compared with that which is to be seen
in Christendom.
But truth is progressive, and neither men nor nations are
permitted to remain quiescent on the line of duty; and
there is work enough before them. Black clouds are now
hanging on our eastern and western horizon which may portend
a long night of darkness and tempest: and if I might dare
to talk of the future, I should perhaps say, that on the great
question of social slavery hang the coming destinies of man-
kind, more than on any other that is soon likely to come
under the arbitration of States and Empires.
If a great missionary work remains undone; then, to be
done at all, it must betaken up by those who will begin it hon-
estly and fervently. But we are often told that the missionary
office is now undertaken by ignorant, unlettered, uncommis-
sioned men; who have been heating their imaginations among
crude prophetic visions, and pillowing their souls on empty
dreams. It may have been so in some rare instances. Ignorant,
unlettered men would have little chance of influencing the con-
victions and turning the hearts of the subtle and civilized
Hindoo or Mahomedan of Asia—such men as the learned and
pious Martyn had to deal with. But zeal and sincerity are in
Ixxx PREFATORY LETTER.
all cases among the good elements of success: and the words
of the Gospel, and the duties arising out of its commands,
are so plain and simple, that an honest teacher, gifted with
common sense, cannot well be mistaken in their application,
while he is dealing with men of humble state like those of
central Africa. Whether he be learned or unlearned can
make little difference in the first doctrines he will have to
teach, and the first duties he will have to enforce when he
begins to instruct the poor unlettered heathen. Be he wise
or foolish, as this world counts wisdom and folly, and what-
ever may have been his social position here, that man deserves
our grateful praise, who, under God, has been an honoured
instrument in first spreading the lght of truth among the
heathen, and leading their hearts and wills toward that kind
of social union which is the commencement of a Christian
society.
IT remember well the mockery and ribaldry—seasoned with
pungent wit, and spiced with words which if they helped to
raise a laugh, served also to raise a blush on a modest cheek
—by which a party of humble Missionaries, who went out to
the Islands of the Pacific in the early years of this century,
were held up to open scorn in some of the most popular
works of that period. These Missionaries were not learned men;
and some of them may have imperfectly known their own
strength, and ill counted the cost of what they undertook. But
they were earnest men, and not to be put down by the wit and
mockery of those who had done, and were willing to do,
nothing for the civilization and instruction of the licentious
inhabitants of those beautiful Islands. The Missionaries perse-
vered against scorn and ill-bodings; and before many years
were over, their labours were blessed; and they christianized
the Islands to which they first shaped their course; and their
goodly victory was, under God, followed by one of the most
rapid advances in civilization of which we can find an account
in the moral records of the present century. If some of the
PREFATORY LETTER. lxxxi
fruits of this holy triumph have fallen short of expectation,
and have not been allowed to ripen, that misfortune was not
. the fault either of the Missionaries or the Natives; but was
the fault of stronger men who, without a plea of law or jus-
tice, invaded and beat down the inhabitants by force of arms,
and drove away their Christian teachers. Wisdom is ap-
proved of her children ; ‘and from this good band of Christian
labourers—once so much mocked and scorned by writers of
great power and skill—have arisen works we may with truth
call philosophical ; which have advanced the cause of physical
science ; cast a good light upon the history of a very interesting
section of the human family ; and added a goodly chapter to
the religious literature of the present day.
Just in the same narrow, and I am sorry to say un-
christian spirit, some of the most popular writers of this
time—men who have delighted us by their prolific works of
fiction, and done some service to the cause of humanity and
justice, national taste, social freedom, and brotherly love—
have thought fit to blight their laurels by frequent and lusty
scoffings at honest acts of public zeal for the instruction of the
poor natives of heathendom. They write as if every man must
be a brain-heated fanatic who stands up on a public platform
to plead for his fellow-creatures in distant lands; and as if
every woman, who goes to listen to him and desires to help
him, must needs be a simple dreamer, a slattern, a sorry house-
wife, and a bad mother. Such gross caricatures, if they prove
nothing else, are a proof of vulgar taste, and may help to do
some mischief: but they partly carry with them their own
antidote; for they are nauseously false and ridiculously untrue
to nature. Who ever doubted that there are, and ever will
be, great follies even among good men? There will be found
at all times men who talk of goodness, and make a show of
it, without loving it for its own sake. Such men are the
chaff which the blast of ridicule might, perhaps, winnow
from the corn. But our Bible tells us not to be in too great
g
OC
Ixxxll PREFATORY LETTER.
a hurry to divide the good part of the crop from the bad—
rather to leave the separation to an unerring hand: and as
for ourselves it tells us to hope all things, and to live in cha-
rity with our neighbour. A man who pleads honestly (and
wisely too) for a cause in which his heart is warm, but for
which his hearers have no sympathy, may perchance appear to
them to be acting and talking like a fool while he is speaking
the very words of truth and wisdom. Let us keep down our
mockery, and try gravely and honestly to look society in the
face; and we shall most certainly see, that among men and
women of every grade—from the highest to the lowest—who
have felt true love for their fellow-creatures both at home and
in heathendom, and have proved it by efforts for their in-
struction in the lessons of the Gospel, are to be found some
of the best patriots, some of the most high-minded men and
best clergymen, and many of the best daily fire-side models
of social duty and domestic love.
The preceding remarks do not apply to the Church of
England only; but to every other Christian Church, whatso-
ever may be its name, of which the members believe in the
promises of the Gospel as the ground of their hopes, and
take its commands as the rule of their life. While such men
are doing the good work of Christian love among the hea-
then, we pray, with all our hearts, that God may speed them
well—without stopping to inquire into the Covenants they
may have signed, the Synodal Confessions they may have
published, or the outward forms of polity they may have
chosen. A man may surely join in such a prayer without
forfeiting one iota of his loyalty, or abating one particle of
his active duties, to his own Church and Country.
But charity begins at home, it is said, and very truly said.
Charity will, however, very soon be cold when it is confined
to one household; and its flame will soon go out if it be not
fanned by the open air. That man is sure to be a base citizen
and a surly master, whose charities do not expand beyond his
PREFATORY LETTER. lxxxiil
own threshold. In that condition he would morally be little
better than the beasts of the field. It is of the very essence
of Christian love that it is expansive, and that it gains new
strength by its social exercise. For sentiments of true love
are not barren, but have a goodly progeny, which bring back
to the heart a most abundant recompense.
There has however appeared in our times another argument
(alluded to before, p. viii) against missions to the heathen, which
starts witb an hypothesis that some Tribes of men have been
created only to be destroyed—that when a Race is once sunk
low in the scale of humanity it is absolutely irrecoverable—and
that all efforts to raise it to a higher moral grade are a worthless
waste of time, and therefore a mischievous application of our
labour. I do not stop to ask by what law of faith or reason
we dare to define the bounds of divine benevolence; and by what
right we strive to draw within our narrow limitation those
large religious hopes which animate a good man, who is wil-
ling to devote his life to a work for which he believes he has
God’s sanction; and who works well because he trusts that
he shall continue to have God’s help. The hypothesis gives
us a gloomy, cheerless view of our Maker’s dealings with His
creatures. There is darkness enough in the world without our
hypothetical colouring to make it darker still. The argument,
when sifted, is but a miserable apology for our own short-
comings ; and a profane readiness to throw, on the unfathom-
able decrees of Providence, a blame for evils, which, in obedi-
ence to His commands and in full trust in His help, it was
our bounden duty to remedy. But have we done this?
Nay, have we not—in the case of Africa—fostered and engen-
dered these evils by most intrepid and cruel deeds of wicked-
ness—continued and upheld for centuries, without remorse or
shame? To such an argument—when urged by men with
little hope, with frigid benevolence, and it may be in selfish
sincerity—we can reply by an appeal to the conversions
wrought, with God’s help, by the Missionaries to the Islands
=
S—2
]xxxiv PREFATORY LETTER.
of the Pacific. Or we may appeal to more recent instances—
such, for example, as the goodly Christian fruits produced in
New Zealand, by the apostolical labours of the faithful, pious,
and brave Bishop Selwyn.
But a true-hearted Christian does not need an appeal to
facts, however much he may rejoice to think of them. The
book of life is before him. He knows its commands and its
promises, and he feels its hopes. He knows well that its pro-
mises embrace the whole human family, and are not bounded
by latitude or climate. He does not, on that account, give up
the homely duties of that state in which God has placed him.
He performs them prudently, loyally, and faithfully. But that
does not hinder him from honouring those good and brave men
to whom his Maker has given a stronger frame, a wider vision,
a firmer will, and an ampler and more glorious line of duty
than his own. Such men he honours by outward reverence,
assists by prudent counsel, and encourages by substantial sym-
pathy.
Nor can a true-hearted Christian doubt that, in some form
or other, Providence will bless those labours of love of which
the high aim is the enduring good of the human family. The
progress of national civilization, under all conditions, is of very
slow growth: but this fact of history, when well interpreted,
may become an indirect encouragement, and tell a good man,
like Livingstone, not to lose heart because so little seeming
progress is made during the course of a single life. Spite of
the little that has yet been done, he can look forward with
good hope to future days, when millions of civilized men may
flourish in Christian freedom and happiness on the hills that
skirt the Kalahari desert, and in that earthly paradise which
he found near the banks of the Zambesi.
The imaginative and philosophical idolaters of ancient Greece
worshipped the heroes who had figured in their old traditions
as the benefactors of their country. And if we are to trust
that noble English teacher, who has sometimes been called
PREFATORY LETTER. Ixxxv
the prophet of inductive science, there was a wisdom lurk-
ing under the wild visions of those Ancients, which shadowed
forth some higher truths than had then been plainly told—
and were to the old world, as the outstretched hands of a blind
man, feeling his way towards a true resting-place, but with
no light to help him. They tell us in a fable, that fire brought
down by stealth from heaven could give life to a statue of
cold clay. We can take up the figure, no longer entangled
in a fable, and declare its accomplishment in that heavenly
fire which warms the Christian heart, and that holy light
which irradiates the Christian eye. The power of God—which
brooding over the dead, matter of the created world, brought
out of it law, and order, and all living things, and breathed
into man a living soul—has not lost its energy. It was the
Spirit of the everlasting God who knows no change; who
has dealt kindly by His faithful people, and will deal kindly
still; who knows how to help His faithful servant, and will
help him; and by His renovating power will, in His own
time, give to a good man a mighty strength to lift up the poor
heathen from the earth, to warm his cold frozen heart, and to
bring his inner being into that likeness of God in which man
was created.
Such is the faith and hope, and such the commission of
Livingstone, and of other good men—too many to tell—who
are gone to teach the truth to the millions of our fellow-crea-
tures who are scattered over the earth. These men are a por-
tion of the sinews of our national strength. For they help to
keep alive amongst us the true practical acceptance of our re-
ligion. The men of no nation can be maintained in honour
and happiness without a recognition of religious principle.
Heathens have taught this lesson; and I once heard it af-
firmed by one of the greatest philosophers in France, who, at
the time he uttered this great moral truth, was himself an
unbeliever in the religion of Christ. But I write not to un-
believers. It is not on mere grounds of expediency, but to
lxxxvi PREFATORY LETTER.
enforce the everlasting truth of God, that Christianity is com-
mended to the whole world. At the same time, no nation can
hope for long prosperity which practically denies its Chris-
tianity. Such a nation is not an instrument in the hand of God
fit to work out the holy purposes of His Providence. Men
like Livingstone are among the strong fibres that make
the complicated textile fabric of our national strength. We
greeted him with glad hearts while he was here—we pray
that his God and Saviour may long bless his labours now
that he is far away: and we trust that in long distant ages
he may live in the grateful memory of Christian Africa—
not in fabulous figures, like the old imaginative traditions of
heathen Greece, but in homely, honest, historic truth—as a
brave good man who came among them in their old days of
darkness; instructed them, like a Father, in the pleasant ways
of light and gentleness and truth ; and taught them to lift up
their hearts towards a redeeming God.
In such a prayer as this, my dear Sir, I know that you
will join me. Again asking your forgiveness for my long
delay,
I remain, in all good-will,
Very faithfully yours,
ADAM SEDGWICK.
To the Rev. Witttam Monk,
Aubrey Villa, Cambridge.
EU. OCI EE LT:
TRINITY COLLEGE,
May 17, 1858.
Your work, I am told, is ready for publication; and very
nearly the whole of the previous letter is now in type. I
must therefore—especially after the long and unhappy delay to
which I have before alluded (p.lxxiv.)—make this Postscript
as short as I can. From the first I intended to confine my
letter chiefly to the Author’s account of the native Africans,
and to his past labours and future prospects as a benevolent
Missionary—using that word in his own large sense; so as
to include under it every man who is willing personally to
devote himself to the improvement of the physical and moral
condition of the Natives. The object of this Postscript is to
give a synopsis of the physical and scientific information with
which this admirable volume abounds. J¢ greatly wants an
Index; for it is written inartificially, and most important facts
are so scattered through the journal, that when partly for-
gotten they are not easily referred to. Such an Index need
not be long.
1. The Vegetable Kingdom. Under this head may be here
included the forest-trees, fruit-trees, cereals, plants of econo-
mical and medicinal use, grasses, flowers, fruits, &c. There is
a very great mass of popular information under these heads.
The facts are stated without any affectation of scientific dis-
play, and are full of excellent suggestions—many of which
will, no doubt, be laboriously followed out by future scientific
travellers.
2. Meteorology and Climate. These subjects are very
nearly allied to those included under the preceding head.
Under this head are here included many facts respecting
periodical winds; tropical rains; ranges of thermometrical
temperature; hygrometrical conditions and malaria. Under
Ixxxvil POSTSCRIPT.
this head I may, for sake of brevity, include the most im-
portant discovery of wide regions in which the climate of
South Africa is delightful to the senses, and is in a high degree
favourable to human life. Had the author laid no other fact
but this before us, his great labours would have been well
bestowed.
3. The Animal Kingdom. I here compress together
several subjects that should more properly appear under dis-
tinct heads of enumeration. (1) The description of the red,
white, and black ants.—The experiments on the insects which
distil water: though left imperfect they are interesting and
suggestive.-—The accounts of the destructive Tsetse, and of
other noxious animals of a low order. (2) The accounts of
the habits and instincts of the Reptiles on the Upper Zam-
besi. (3) The descriptions of Birds—Of the ostrich, the
honey-guide, and of the red-beaked hornbill; of the guard-birds
of the buffalo and the rhinoceros; of the songs of tropical
birds, &c. (4) The graphic descriptions of the habits, in-
stincts, and modes of attack and defence, of the larger Mam-
mals; with the addition of some new species. All the above
subjects are excellently touched on; and the chief thing the
reader wants is an Index that may help him to refresh his
remembrance of many instructive and delightful pages in the
large volume.
4. Hydrography of South Africa. On this subject the
Author has given very important additions to all our previous
knowledge—not merely in his personal examination of the
course of the Zambesi to the sea; but in his approximation to
the range of its ramifications, as well as of its principal tribu-
tary rivers. Nor does his information end here. He has
improved the hydrography of Angola; and has laid down the
position of the extreme southern branches of the Congo or
Zaire. Combining this knowledge with his account of the
physical geography of South Africa, we can explain some great
changes which have taken place in the hydrography of the
country within a comparatively recent period: and in like
manner we can explain the migrations of some of the larger
mammals through the continent. If, for example, the hippo-
POSTSCRIPT. ]xxxix
potamus of South Africa be of the same species with the hip-
popotamus of the Nile, how did that animal migrate from
North Africa to South, or from South Africa to North? The
old maps made such a migration almost impossible. There is
now, perhaps, no difficulty in our reply. The animal might
have found its way through the lakes and swamps of the great
table-land north of the Zambesi; and its tracks were seen by
Livingstone not far from the water-shed.
5. Physical Geography. Strictly speaking, this cannot be
separated from the hydrography of the continent. The two
are connected as cause and consequence. But discovery sel-
dom follows the chronological order of nature: for we are
compelled to ascend from consequence to cause. It has long
been known to geographers that South Africa was bounded by
chains of mountains. One chain runs parallel to its western
coast and stretches northward far beyond the limits of our
Author’s travels. In like manner the southern end of the
continent is bounded by mountains of considerable elevation.
And chains of mountains extend, almost continuously. parallel
to its eastern coast, and run to latitudes many degrees North
of the Zambesi. In the centre of South Africa is a great
plain—the Kalahari desert. Again, it was inferred, though
upon imperfect evidence, that high land extended across the
continent, somewhere to the North of the great river; and
this high land appeared to connect the eastern and western
chains of South Africa. But the physical nature of this high
table-land was often hypothetically misrepresented in the old
maps of Africa.
There were also reasons to believe that the low central por-
tions of South Africa—bounded by the high regions above
noticed—were once occupied by a great lake, which had its
probable issue somewhere about the latitude of the Orange
river. All the known geographical facts were admirably put
together, and the probable consequences drawn from them in
1852 by Sir R. I. Murchison, in his address to the Geographical
Society. Probable consequences and facts are not necessarily
in accordance; but physical geographers have been delighted
to find that, in this instance, the logic had been good. For
xe POSTSCRIPT.
Livingstone has proved, by numerous facts, that there once was
a vast lake in the central parts of South Africa; which has left
its traces by deposits of calcareous tufa, some of which run
far up the present river-courses, and point out the high levels
at which the old central lake once stood. Nor is this all his
evidence. He has told us that he has found in the earth-heaps,
thrown out by the burrowing animals of the desert, certain
species of shells identical with the fresh-water shells of the
Lake Ngami. Hence he infers that the old central lake was of
fresh water; and that the present Lake Ngami is nothing but
a great pool left in one of the lower hollows of the central
region, when its great body of waters, from some cause or other,
drained off and disappeared}.
But how had the central waters disappeared? Not by mere
evaporation and absorption. For if so, we might have expected
more traces of saliferous deposits than we meet with in the
central plain of South Africa. It was almost certain—before
we had been taught by Livingstone—that the brim, which held
the great central lake, must, somewhere or other, have been
broken through, so as to let off the waters to a lower level.
We may now affirm that Livingstone has explained this
difficulty. The great break of continuity, among the rocks
below the Victoria Falls, certainly let off the waters to a lower
level; and a convulsion capable of causing that enormously
deep and continuous chasm (above described, supra, p. xlvi.)
may well have broken through the north-eastern barrier by
which the waters of the Zambesi were dammed back into the
great central lake. I believe this to be the true explanation of
the geographical fact; and that, by placing the evidence before
us, he has thrown a good and new light upon the physical geo-
1 ‘We are not without an example of this kind in England, of course on
a pigmy scale; but no worse, for comparison, on that account. There was
once a lake at Bovey Tracey in Devonshire, which for many ages was fed
by the rivulets which descended from the neighbouring granitic hills of
Dartmoor. Its waters overflowed, and found their way to the sea, but not
by the channels through which they now flow down to Teignmouth. In
course of time the lake was partially filled up: and at length came an
earthquake and disruption of the strata; and then the rivulets began to
drain off, and move along their present channels,
POSTSCRIPT. xc
graphy of all the country South of the great river. Something
more is, however, required on a question of such interest.
When was the great chasm formed? There seems to be
no better way of gaining an approximate answer to this ques-
tion than by learning the nature of the shells which inhabited
the central lake when the calcareous tufa was formed; but on
this point we have little information in the Missionary Travels.
The great chasm does not extend above the falls. What are
the rocks in the river-bed above the falls? How far do the
rocks extend towards the great swampy plain down which the
Zambesi descends to Kalai? Are there any traces of the cal-
careous tufa to be seen on the swelling ground which skirts
the river near Kalai? These questions will, we trust, be well
examined by the gentlemen of the next expedition up the
Zambesi.
6. Geology. On this subject I shall be very short, and I should
be so though time were less pressing than it is. For no geolo-
gist will be content with second-hand opinions; and a reader
who knows little of geology would not thank me for dry details
on a subject in which he takes no interest. We have some valu-
able published details respecting the geology of the Cape and
the neighbouring country. Some parts of the country are cer-
tainly palzeozoic; and other parts may be of the old secondary
period. As to the great eastern and western coast-chains,
we believe that several parts of them are metamorphic and
paleozoic; but of their structural and stratigraphical details
we know at present very little.
As a mere matter of opinion, founded only on lame English
analogies, I should expect that, when its fossils are explored, the
coal-field near Tete will turn out to be of a true paleeozoic or an
old mesozoic period.
The bearings of the eastern and western chains of South
Africa are so nearly North and South, that if there were any
true physical foundation for the hypothesis (first advanced by
the illustrious Humboldt and afterwards adopted by Sir R. I.
Murchison) that such North and South bearings are an indica-
tion that the rocks are auriferous—then we ought assuredly to
expect auriferous deposits in various portions of these great
XCil POSTSCRIPT.
chains. North of Tete there are gold washings; and the range
of the strata seems there to be nearly North and South. At
present I have no faith whatever in the above hypothesis; though
it led to one happy anticipation. But erroneous hypotheses
have sometimes donethe same before. What we seem to know is—
that gold is chiefly found among paleozoic rocks of a quartzose
type. And if gold be found, in detached nodules, or nuggets,
among such rocks, it must be itself of the paleeozoic age. Some
of the great physical agencies of the earth are meridional; and
these agencies may possibly—and in a way we do not compre-
hend—have influenced the deposit of metals on certain lines of
bearing. It would therefore be very foolish to reject an hypothe-
sis absolutely, because we do not comprehend the reasons of it.
So long as our hypothesis represents known facts, it cannot do
much mischief; though even in such a case it may happen to be
the means of too much narrowing our inquiries. Thus, I think,
it would be an hypothetical misdirection to say, that a quartzose
paleeozoic rock cannot be auriferous, because its strike is not
nearly north and south. Experience must settle this point.
The geological age of the vast overlying mass of red shale,
sandstone, and red conglomerate—which forms a great broad
table-land across the continent, and extends towards the North
through many degrees of latitude—is of primary importance to
the illustration of the old physical history of what now com-
poses Southern Africa. A few trunks of silicified trees are
mentioned as belonging to this great deposit. One of them is
allied to araucaria. But the fossils, so far as I have heard, have
settled nothing. For fossil trees allied to araucaria are found
among primary, secondary and tertiary rocks. Judging again,
on mere vague analogy, I should expect that the vast deposit
would turn out to be of an old mesozoic, or of a permian age.
Should these conjectures, to which, however, I attach no
value, turn out an approximation to the truth, South Africa
will then, like Australia, be denuded of the greater part of
those grand European and British deposits we call mesozoic.
The same may be said of South America; and thus we may
seem to be almost shutting out from the Southern hemisphere
the noble monuments of past time which decorate the middle
POSTSCRIPT. xcill
period of the earth’s history. Finally, Dr Livingstone alludes
to some coast-deposits with shells like those now inhabiting the
sea. If the shells form groups identical with those now living,
we should call the deposits containing them “raised beaches.”
But to determine their exact age, would require long and very
nice work.
All thanks and honour to the Author for what he has told
us. He has done wonders when we consider his many inter-
ruptions; his periods of exhaustion; his rough untaught com-
panions who required his constant care; his enormous labours;
his daily observations with the sextant; his hourly remarks
recorded in his journal; his simple love of truth that allows
him not to swell his narrative with hypotheses; his exertions
of medical skill in all times of need; his life of purity, and his
daily lessons of love to those who were around him. They
loved him and would have died for him; being strongly ar-
fected by that kind of instinctive sympathy by which even a
poor untaught savage is drawn towards one who is brave,
and kind, and good}.
1 About the time he left England a pamphlet was printed by Dr
Livingstone on the languages spoken by the Natives of South Africa. I
have not yet had time to read this work with care; and its.matter is foreign
to the more immediate objects of this letter. Since this Postscript was
in type, I have learnt that the Publisher (Mr Murray) has now sup-
plied the Missionary Travels in South Africa with a very good Index, for
which every reader will be grateful.
partons rr a
Negavtvdl: P rail ithe side oT
migabti aia!) Lsayaives”), Weve) geek sniaapos atbegepdh ote
way dst Oe ei eas aa srangectia,. ae
sd wetotcrbei ane a, MDiVG sh. Gnd
Mi eee ae bea te
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LECTURE I.
Detiverep before the University of Cambridge, in the
Senate-House, on Friday, 4th December, 1857. Dr
Philpott, Master of St Catharine’s College, Vice-
Chancellor, in the chair. The building was crowded
to excess with all ranks of the University and their
friends. The reception was so enthusiastic that lite-
rally there were volley after volley of cheers. The
Vice-Chancellor introduced Dr Livingstone to the
meeting, who spoke nearly as follows:—
TIEN I went to Africa about seventeen years ago I
resolved to acquire an accurate knowledge of the
native tongues; and as I continued, while there, to speak
generally in the African languages, the result is that I am
not now very fluent in my own; but if you will excuse my
imperfections under that head, I will endeavour to give
you as clear an idea of Africa as I can. If you look at
the map of Africa you will discover the shortness of the
coast-line, which is in consequence of the absence of deep
indentations of the sea. This is one reason why the in-
terior of Africa has remained so long unknown to the rest
of the world. Another reason is the unhealthiness of the
coast, which seems to have reacted upon the disposition
of the people, for they are very unkindly, and opposed to
2 LECTURE I.
Europeans passing through their country. In the southern
part of Africa lies the great Kalahari desert’, not so called
as being a mere sandy plain, devoid of vegetation: such a
desert I never saw until I got between Suez and Cairo.
Kalahari is called a desert because it contains no streams,
and water is obtained only from deep wells. The reason
why so little rain falls on this extensive plain, is, because
the winds prevailing over the greater part of the interior
country are easterly, with a little southing. The moisture
taken up by the atmosphere from the Indian Ocean is
deposited on the eastern hilly slope; and when the moy-
ing mass of air reaches its greatest elevation, it is then
on the verge of the great valley, or, as in the case of the
Kalahari, the great heated inland plains there meeting
with the rarefied air of that hot, dry surface, the ascend-
ing heat gives it greater capacity for retaining all its re-
maining humidity, and few showers can be given to the
middle and western lands in consequence of the increased
hygrometric power. (See Z’ravels, p. 95.) The people
living there, not knowing the physical reasons why they
have so little rain, are in the habit of sending to the
mountains on the east for rain-makers, in whose power of
making rain they have a firm belief?. They say the
1 For an account of this desert, see Appendix, page 64.
2 Rain-makers are a numerous race in Southern Africa; and rain-
making is an inveterate prejudice in the minds of large numbers of
people. At pages 20—25 of the book of 7’ravels is given an amusing, yet
pathetic, account of this quackery among the Bakwains. These people
try to help themselves to rain by a variety of preparations, such as char-
‘
i &
RAIN-MAKING. 3
people in those mountains have plenty of rain, and there-
fore must possess a medicine for making it. This faith
in rain-making is a remarkable feature in the people in
the country, and they have a good deal to say in favour of
it. If you say you do not believe that these medicines
have any power upon the clouds, they reply that that is
just the way people talk about what they do not under-
stand. They take a bulb, pound it, and administer an
infusion of it to a sheep: in a short time the sheep dies
in convulsions, and then they ask, Has not the medicine
power? I do not think our friends of the homceopathic
‘‘ persuasion” have much more to say than that. The
common argument known to all those tribes is this—
‘*God loves you white men better than us: He made you
first, and did not make us pretty like you: He made us
afterwards, and does not love us as He loves you. He
gave you clothing, and horses and waggons, and guns
and powder, and that Book, which you are always talking
coal made of burnt bats, jackals’ livers, baboons’ and lions’ hearts, ser-
pents’ skins and vertebrw, in addition to the means mentioned above.
They take a philosophical view of the question, and say that they do not
pretend to make the rain themselves, but that God Himself makes it
in answer to their prayers, and as a consequence of their preparations.
They pray by means of their medicines, which act makes the rain theirs.
A practice somewhat similar exists among the medicine men of the
North-American Indians. It is somewhat striking that the Bakwains
were so long afflicted with drought during Dr Livingstone’s residence
among them. They attributed this partly to his wizard powers, and
partly to the presence of the Bible; regarding him with a suspicion cor-
responding with this belief. The dialogue between the medical doctor
and the rain-doctor is highly entertaining, and shews great acuteness on
the part of the untutored savage.
9
4 LECTURE I.
about. He gave us only two things—cattle and a know-
ledge of certain medicines by which we can make rain.
We do not despise the things that you have; we only
wish that we had them too; we do not despise that Book
of yours, although we do not understand it: so you ought
not to despise our knowledge of rain-making, although
you do not understand it.” You cannot convince them
that they have no power to make rain. As it is with the
homeceopathist, so it is with the rain-maker—you might
argue your tongue out of joint, and would convince
neither.
I went into that country for the purpose of teach-
ing the doctrines of our holy religion, and settled
with the tribes on the border of the Kalahari desert.
These tribes were those of the Bakwains, Bushmen and
Bakalahari. Sechele! is the chief of the former. On
1 This interesting man is the son of the Bakwain Chief, Mochoasele.
He was uniformly kind to the Livingstones, sending them food con-
stantly during their stay with him at Shokuane, his place of residence,
and becoming our traveller’s guide in 1850, when going to visit Sebi-
tuane. As a child his life was spared by Sebituane when attacking the
Bakwains, who gave him his father’s chieftainship. He married the
daughters of three of his under-chiefs, and afterwards became Dr Living- .
stone’s Sergius Paulus, or first influential Christian convert. He had
family prayers in his house, and became a missionary to his own people,
sending his children to Mr Moffat, at Kuruman, to be instructed ‘‘in
all the knowledge of the white man.” He learnt to read with great
diligence, and succeeded well, getting quite fat through becoming a
student instead of a hunter. The Bible was his constant study, he being
particularly fond of Isaiah’s book of prophecy. Once he said, in refer-
ence to St Paul, ‘‘ He was a fine fellow, that Paul.”
The Boers hate him for his resolute independence, and love of the
THE FUTURE STATE, 5)
the occasion of the first religious service held, he asked
me if he could put some questions on the subject of
Christianity, since such was the custom of their country
when any new subject was introduced to their notice.
I said, ‘‘ By all means.” He then inquired “If my
forefathers knew of a future judgment?” I said, “ Yes;”
and began to describe the scene of the great white
throne, and Hrm who should sit on it, from whose face
the heavens shall flee away, and be no more seen;
interrupting he said, ‘‘ You startle me, these words make
all my bones to shake, I have no more strength in me.
You have been talking about a future judgment, and
many terrible things, of which we know nothing,” repeat-
ing, ‘‘ Did your forefathers know of these things?” I again
replied in the affirmative. The chief said, ‘* All my fore-
fathers have passed away into darkness, without knowing
anything of what was to befall them; how is it that your
forefathers, knowing all these things, did not send word
to my forefathers sooner?” This was rather a poser; but
I explained the geographical difficulties, and said it was
only after we had begun to send the knowledge of Christ
to Cape Colony and other parts of the country, to which
we had access, that we came to them; that it was their
duty to receive what Europeans had now obtained the
power to offer them; and that the time would come when
the whole world would receive the knowledge of Christ,
English. He values everything European, and desires to trade with
white men. Some further details are found in the Lectures about him.
9—2
6 LECTURE TI.
because Christ had promised that all the earth should be
covered with a knowledge of Himself. The chief pointed
to the Kalahari desert, and said, ‘‘ Will you ever get
beyond that with your Gospel? We, who are more
accustomed to thirst than you are, cannot cross that
desert; how can you?” I stated my belief in the pro-
mise of Christ; and in a few years afterwards that chief
was the man who enabled me to cross that desert; and
not only so, but he himself preached the Gospel to tribes
beyond it. In some years, more rain than usual falls in
the desert, and then there is a large crop of water-melons.
When this occurred, the desert might be crossed: in
1852, a gentleman crossed it, and his oxen existed on
the fluid contained in the melons for twenty-two days.
In crossing the desert, different sorts of country are met
with ; up to 20th south latitude, there is a comparatively
dry and arid country, and you might travel for four days,
as I have done, without a single drop of water for the
oxen. Water for the travellers themselves was always
carried in the waggons, the usual mode of travelling south
of the 20th degree of latitude being by ox-waggon. For
four days, upon several occasions, we had not a drop of
water for the oxen; but beyond 20th south latitude, going
to the north, we travelled to Loanda, 1,500 miles, with-
out carrying water for a single day. The country in the
southern part of Africa is a kind of oblong basin, stretching
north and south, bounded on all sides by old schist rocks.
The waters of this central basin find an exit through
OBJECTS IN VISITING THE INTERIOR. 7
a fissure into the river Zambesi, flowing to the east, the
basin itself being covered with a layer of calcareous tufa.
My object in going into the country south of the desert
was to instruct the natives in a knowledge of Christianity,
but many circumstances prevented my living amongst
them more than seven years, amongst which were consider-
ations arising out of the slave system carried on by the
Dutch Boers. I resolved to go into the country beyond,
and soon found that, for the purposes of commerce, it
was necessary to have a path to the sea. I might have
gone on instructing the natives in religion, but as civi-
lization and Christianity must go on together, I was
obliged to find a path to the sea, in order that I should
not sink to the level of the natives!. The chief? was
1 After leaving Lake Ngami, Dr Livingstone took his family back
to the Cape, and then set out on his first great journey. He visited
Sebituane, at whose death he recommenced his exploring labours.
During the course of these, he floundered through the marshy country
south of Linyanti, and came so unexpectedly upon Secheletu, that the
people said “‘he dropped from the clouds, riding on a hippopotamus.”
2 This is Secheletu, chief of the Makololo, being the son of Sebituane.
When Dr Livingstone first knew him he was eighteen years old, being
of a coffee and milk colour. He became chief through the resignation
and at the desire of his sister, Mamochisdne, whom Sebituane, at his
death, had appointed to govern. Secheletu had a rival, ’Mpepe, who,
while alive, rendered his position somewhat insecure. This “Mpepe
attempted to assassinate him as he was escorting our traveller to explore
the river Chobe, and visiting his possessions. Dr Livingstone uninten-
tionally prevented this design by stepping between them just as the
murderer was about to strike the chief down.
Secheletu behaved so generously towards Dr Livingstone, at all
times and in so many ways, that the civilized world and Africa are
deeply indebted to him for contributing so largely towards the opening
of the interior of that vast continent. He found the escort of twenty-
8 LECTURE T.
overjoyed at the suggestion, and furnished me with
twenty-seven men, and canoes, and provisions, and pre-
sents for the tribes through whose country we had to
pass. We might have taken a shorter path to the sea
than that to the north, and then to the west, by which
we went; but along the country by the shorter route,
there is an insect called the tsetse!, whose bite is fatal to
horses, oxen, and dogs, but not to men or donkeys.—
You seem to think there is a connexion between the
two.—The habitat of that insect is along the shorter
route to the sea. The bite of it is fatal to domestic
animals, not immediately, but certainly in the course of
two or three months; the animal grows leaner and leaner,
seven men, as here mentioned, for the first, and that of one hundred
and fourteen men for the second, great journey ; also, ten tusks of ivory
to help to defray the costs of the former, and thirty for the latter.
He is a man of enlightened mind, and a peace-maker. When our
traveller set out from Linyanti on his journey towards the Barotse
country, he accompanied him with one hundred and sixty attendants.
During this journey they ate together, dwelt in the same tent, and
returned to Linyanti after a nine weeks’ tour. When Dr Livingstone
and his party set out for Loanda, he lent his own canoes, and sent
orders for their maintenance wherever they came in his dominions, and
gave them a most touching and spirit-stirring reception on their return
to Linyanti. On this occasion the presents received, story told, and
greetiags given, were of a most satisfactory character.
To shew the eagerness of Secheletu to trade with the white man, he
immediately dispatched another party to Loanda, who arrived safely
there after our traveller’s arrival in England. To the latter he gave all
the ivory in his country, and asked him to bring from England, as well
as a sugar-mill, ‘‘any beautiful thing you may see in your own country.”
He eagerly and confidently awaits our traveller’s promised return.
1 For an account of the tsetse, see Appendix, p. 81.
WANT OF FOOD. 9
and gradually dies of emaciation: a horse belonging to
Gordon Cumming died of a bite five or six months after
it was bitten.
On account of this insect, I resolved to go to the
north, and then westwards to the Portuguese settlement
of Loanda. Along the course of the river which we
passed, game was so abundant that there was no diffi-
culty in supplying the wants of my whole party: an-
telopes were so tame that they might be shot from the
canoe. But beyond 14 degrees of south latitude the
natives had guns, and had themselves destroyed the game,
so that I and my party had to live on charity. The
people, however, in that central region were friendly and
hospitable: but they had nothing but vegetable produc-
tions: the most abundant was the cassava, which, how-
ever nice when made into tapioca pudding, resembles in
its more primitive condition nothing so much as a mess
of laundress’ starch!. There was a desire in the various
villages through which we passed to have intercourse
with us, and kindness and hospitality were shewn us;
but when we got near the Portuguese settlement of
Angola the case was changed, and payment was de-
manded for every thing”. But I had nothing to pay with.
Now the people had been in the habit of trading with the
1 For an account of this, see Appendix, p. 79.
? This was often a sort of black-mail levied for a right of way, and
was generally demanded in the shape of ‘‘a man, a tusk, an ox, ora
”
gun.
10 LECTURE I.
slavers, and so they said I might give one of my men in
payment for what I wanted. When I shewed them that
I could not do this, they looked upon me as an interloper,
and I was sometimes in danger of being murdered.
As we neared the coast, the name of England was re-
cognized, and we got on with ease. Upon one occasion,
when I was passing through the parts visited by slave-
traders, a chief! who wished to shew me some kindness
offered me a slave-girl: upon explaining that I had a
little girl of my own, whom I should not like my own
chief to give to a black man, the chief thought I was
displeased with the size of the girl, and sent me one a
head taller. By this and other means I convinced my
men of my opposition to the principle of slavery; and
when we arrived at Loanda I took them on board a
British vessel, where I took a pride in shewing them that
those countrymen of mine and those guns were there for
the purpose of putting down the slave-trade. ‘They were
convinced from what they saw of the honesty of English-
men’s intentions; and the hearty reception they met with
1 This was Shinte, or Kabombo, a Balonda chief. He gave our
traveller a grand reception, and treated him kindly. The kidnapping of
children and others by night, to sell for slaves, was an unhappy practice
of his.
Dr Livingstone mentions five other Balonda chiefs, with four of
whom he had intercourse. Matiamvo, the paramount chief of all the
Balonda tribes, he did not visit, as he resides too far away to the North.
Those whom he saw were Manenko and Nyamoana, two female chiefs ;
also Masiko and Kawawa, two other chieftains. Interesting notices of
these are scattered through the book, especially of Shinte and Manenko,
who are related as uncle and niece.
ARRIVAL AT LOANDA. 1]
from the sailors made them say to me, “‘ We see they are
your countrymen, for they have hearts like you.” On
the journey, the men had always looked forward to reach-
ing the coast: they had seen Manchester prints and
other articles imported therefrom, and they could not
believe they were made by mortal hands. On reaching
the sea, they thought that they had come to the end of
the world. They said, “We marched along with our
father, thinking the world was a large plain without
limit; but all at once the land said ‘I am finished,
DI
there is no more of me;’” and they called themselves
the true old men—the true ancients—having gone to
the end of the world. On reaching Loanda, they com-
menced trading in firewood, and also engaged them-
selves at sixpence a day in unloading coals, brought by a
steamer for the supply of the cruiser lying there to watch
the slave-vessels. On their return, they told their people
“we worked for a whole moon, carrying away the stones
that burn.” By the time they were ready to go back to
their own country, each had secured a large bundle of
goods. On the way back, however, fever detained them,
and their goods were all gone, leaving them on their
return home, as poor as when they started}.
1 These men behaved well to our traveller, and shewed much sim-
plicity and shrewdness both in their conduct and remarks. On one or
two trying occasions they behaved with real courage. They carried
home with them seeds, plants, pigeons, &c., not there to be found. We
cannot but be struck with the unity of the human race, as asserted in
Scripture, by seeing it from independent quarters in oneness of thought,
feeling, desire, and affection, all the world over, despite other differences.
12 LECTURE I.
I had gone towards the coast for the purpose of finding
a direct path to the sea, but on going through the country
we found forests so dense that the sun had not much in-
fluence on the ground, which was covered with yellow
mosses, and all the trees with white lichens. Amongst
these forests were little streams, each having its source in
a bog; in fact nearly all the rivers in that country com-
mence in bogs. Finding it impossible to travel here in a
wheel conveyance, I left my waggon behind, and I believe
it is standing in perfect safety, where I last saw it, at the
These men were genuine Africans, chiefly Makalolo, with a mixture of
several other tribes. The ships on board which our traveller took them
were her Majesty’s cruisers, Pluto and Philomel. Here they were de-
lighted with their reception, and all they saw. The cannons for ‘‘ putting
down the slave-trade with” especially delighted them. The officers won
their affections by their cordiality, and the sailors by like kindness and by
sharing their bread and beef with them. Respecting the ships they said,
‘This is not a canoe at all; itis atown.” They looked on the decks
and rigging as being “‘a town upon town.” The party left Loanda on
the return journey on the 20th September, 1854. The account they gave
of themselves, when arrived in their own country, was singularly amusing.
““We are the true ancients, who can tell wonderful things.” Pitsane,
the head-man, related all they had seen, heard, and felt ; and this ac-
count did not lose in the telling. At Linyanti, all had a grand recep-
tion ; Secheletu himself wearing the officers’ uniform sent him by the
Portuguese authorities at Loanda, while the men appeared in dashing
white dresses and red caps, calling themselves our traveller’s ‘‘ braves,”
and trying to walk like Portuguese soldiers. They spoke of the wonder-
ful things they had met with, adding as a climax, ‘‘that they had
finished the whole world, and had turned only when there was no more
land.” One glib old gentleman asked, ‘‘'‘Then you reached Ma-Robert
(Mrs Livingstone)?” They were obliged to confess ‘‘that she lived
a little beyond the world.” (Zravels, p. 501.)
An account of the Doctor’s other travelling companions will be found
at p. 14.
GREAT CENTRAL PLATEAU. 13
present moment. The only other means of conveyance
we had was ox-back, by no means a comfortable mode of
travelling. I therefore came back to discover another
route to the coast by means of the river Zambesi!.
The same system of inundation that distinguishes the
Nile, is also effected by this river, and the valley of the
Barotse is exceedingly like the valley of the Nile between
Cairo and Alexandria. The inundations of the Zambesi,
however, cause no muddy sediment like those of the Nile,
and, only that there are no snow-mountains, would convey
the impression that the inundations were the result of
the melting of snow from adjoining hills. The face of
the country presents no such features, but elevated plains,
so level that rain-water stands for months together upon
them. The water does not flow off, but gradually soaks
into the soil, and then oozes out in bogs, in which all the
rivers take their rise. They have two rainy seasons in
the year, and consequently two periods of inundation.
The reason why the water remains so clear is this; the
country is covered by such a mass of vegetation that the
water flows over the grass, &c., without disturbing the
soil beneath.
There is a large central district containing a large
lake formed by the course of the Zambesi, to explore
which would be well worthy of the attention of any in-
dividual wishing to distinguish himself.
Having got down amongst the people in the middle
1 For an account of this river see Appendix, p. 67.
14 LECTURE I.
of the country, and having made known to my friend the
chief my desire to have a path for civilization and com-
merce on the east, he again furnished me with means to
pursue my researches eastward ; and, to shew how disposed
the natives were to aid me in my expedition, I had 114
men to accompany me to the east, whilst those who had
travelled to the west with me only amounted to 27).
‘ There is something really affecting in the manner how this wonderful
man attached these savages to himself. It must be remembered, too,
that the Makololo are justly regarded with dread by their neighbours as
incurable marauders. At any rate this spectacle shews what kindness,
tact and firmness will do. His service is now so popular, that he gets
one hundred and fourteen volunteers to accompany him in his second
journey. These, like the others, belong to different tribes. On several
occasions, ‘‘ when before the enemy,” they behaved with temper and
courage. Their general conduct was good, though there were some
black sheep among them. One hundred and thirteen of these are now
awaiting our traveller’s return at Teté. The Portuguese commandant
there, Major Sicard, gave them land to till, food, clothing, and permis-
sion to hunt elephants. He writes to England to say that they killed
four in two months.
The Doctor tried to bring to England one remarkable man, Sekwebu,
his interpreter and chief guide, who had been of great service during the
journey from Linyanti to Teté. Of him we must sorrowfully say, “‘One
is not.” His loss must be severe and painful to our traveller. He knew
the Zambesi well, as also the dialects spoken on its banks. On
arriving at Quillimane, and on attempting to board the Frolic, the sea
ran mountains high. Poor Sekwebu in terror asked, ‘‘Is this the way
you go? Is this the way you go?” He became a favourite on board,
but was bewildered with the novelty of every thing. He said, ‘‘ People
are very agreeable,” but ‘‘what a strange country is this, all water
together!” Now comes the climax. When off Mauritius, a steamer ap-
proaches. This must be fairy land—see that monster. These white men
surely are gods or demons. His senses reel—insanity seizes his brain.
He tries to spear a sailor—jumps overboard—pulls himself down by the
chains, and Sekwebu in this life is seen no more!
AFRICAN HONESTY, 15
I carried with me thirty tusks of ivory; and, on leaving
my waggon to set forth on my journey, two warriors of
the country offered a heifer a-piece to the man who
should slay any one who molested it. Having proceeded
about a hundred miles, I found myself short of ammuni-
tion, and despatched an emissary back to the chief to
procure more percussion caps from a box I had in my
waggon. Not understanding the lock, the chief took a
hatchet and split the lid open, to get what was wanted;
and notwithstanding the insecure state in which it re-
mained, I found, on returning two years after, that its
contents were precisely as I left them. Such honesty
is rare even in civilised Christian England, as I know
from experience; for I sent a box of fossils to Dr Buck-
land, which, after arriving safely in England, was stolen
from some railway, being probably mistaken for plate.
I could not make my friend the chief understand that
I was poor: I had a quantity of sugar, and while it lasted
the chief would favour me with his company to coffee ;
when it was gone, I told the chief how it was produced
from the cane, which grew in central Africa, but as they
had no means of extracting the saccharine matter, he
requested me to procure a sugar-mill. When | told him
I was poor, the chief then informed me that all the ivory
in the country was at my disposal, and he accordingly
loaded me with tusks, ten of which on arriving at the
coast I spent in purchasing clothing for my followers ; the
rest were left at Quillimane, that the impression should
16 LECTURE I.
not be produced in the country that they had been stolen
in case of my non-return.
Englishmen are very apt to form their opinion of |
Africans from the elegant figures in tobacconists’ shops:
I scarcely think such are fair specimens of the African.
I think at the same time, that the African women would
be much handsomer than they are if they would only let
themselves alone: though unfortunately that is a failing
by no means peculiar to African ladies; but they are,
by nature, not particularly goodlooking, and seem to
take all the pains they can to make themselves worse.
The people of one tribe knock out all their upper front
teeth, and when they laugh are perfectly hideous. An-
other tribe of the Londa country file all thew front
teeth to a point, like cats’ teeth, and when they grin
put one in mind of alligators: many of the women
are comely, but spoil their beauty by such unnatural
means. Another tribe has a custom of piercing the
cartilage of the nose, and inserting a bit of reed, which
spreads it out, and makes them very disagreeable looking:
others tie their hair, or rather wool, into basket-work,
resembling the tonsorial decorations of the ancient
Egyptians; others, again, dress their hair with a hoop
around it, so as to resemble the gloria round the head
of the Virgin; rather a different application of the hoop
to that of English ladies! !
1 The Batoka tribes, on the Zambesi, knock out their upper front
teeth, in order that they may, as they say, ‘‘look like oxen.” They
NATIVE RELIGION. 17
The people of central Africa have religious ideas
stronger than those of the Caffres and other southern
nations, who talk much of God but pray seldom. They
pray to departed relatives, by whom they imagine ill-
nesses are sent to punish them for any neglect on their
part. Evidences of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary
operations are still extant, and are carefully preserved by
the natives: one tribe can all read and write, which
is ascribable to the teaching of the Jesuits: their only
books are, however, histories of saints, and miracles
effected by the parings of saintly toe-nails, and such-
like nonsense: but, surely, if such an impression has
once been produced, it might be hoped that the efforts
of Protestant missionaries, who would leave the Bible
with these poor people, would not be less abiding.
In a commercial point of view communication with
this country is desirable. Angola is wonderfully fertile,
pronounce those who keep their teeth to ‘‘look like zebras.” Surely
this is some vestige of the animal worship of Egypt. The members of
the Babimpe tribe pull out both their upper and lower front teeth, as a
distinction. Sheakonda’s people, and those on the Tambra, file their
teeth to a point ; as also do the Chiboque, a hostile tribe on the borders
of Angola. This, too, is the practice of the Bashinge ; these people
flatten their noses by inserting bits of reed, or stick, into the septum.
The Balonda gentlemen so load their legs with copper rings, that they
are obliged to walk in a straggling way, the weight being a serious hin-
drance to walking. A man seeing our traveller smile at another with
no rings, imitating his betters as though he wore them, said, ‘‘That is
the way in which they shew off their lordship in these parts.” It is the
ladies on the Loajima who wear the hoop round the head. The women
on the Zambesi and among the Maravi pierce the upper lip, and gra-
dually enlarge the orifice until they can insert a shell. The lip is thus
. drawn out beyond the perpendicular of the nose. Sekwebu said of them,
‘These women want to make their mouths like those of ducks.”
18 LECTURE I.
producing every kind of tropical plant in rank luxuriance.
Passing on to the valley of Quango, the stalk of the
grass was as thick as a quill, and towered above my
head, although I was mounted on my ox; cotton is
produced in great abundance, though merely woven
into common cloth; bananas and pine-apples grow in
great luxuriance; but the people having no maritime
communication, these advantages are almost lost. The
country on the other side is not quite so fertile, but in
addition to indigo, cotton, and sugar-cane, produces a
fibrous substance, which I am assured is stronger than
flax!.
The Zambesi has not been thought much of as a
river by Europeans, not appearing very large at its
mouth; but on going up it for about seventy miles, it is
enormous. The first three hundred miles might be
navigated without obstacle: then there is a rapid, and
near it a coal-field of large extent. The elevated sides
of the basin, which form the most important feature of
the country, are far different in climate to the country
nearer the sea, or even the centre. Here the grass is
short, and the Angola goat, which could not live in the
centre, had been seen on the east highland by Mr Moffat.
My desire is to open a path to this district, that civi-
lization, commerce, and Christianity might find their way
there. I consider that we made a great mistake, when
we carried commerce into India, in being ashamed of our
Christianity; as a matter of common sense and good
1 See Appendix, p. 79.
THE PORTUGUESE. 19
policy, it is always best to appear in one’s true character.
In travelling through Africa, I might have imitated
certain Portuguese, and have passed for a chief; but
I never attempted anything of the sort, although endea-
vouring always to keep to the lessons of cleanliness
rigidly instilled by my mother long ago; the consequence
was that the natives respected me for that quality, though
remaining dirty themselves.
I had a pass from the Portuguese consul, and on
arriving at their settlement, I was asked what I was. I
said, ‘A missionary, and a doctor too.” They asked,
‘“¢ Are you a doctor of medicine?” —“ Yes.”—“Are you
not a doctor of mathematics too?””—‘“* No.”—“ And yet
you can take longitudes and latitudes.”"—-Then they asked
me about my moustache; and I simply said I wore it,
because men had moustaches to wear, and ladies had
not. They could not understand either, why a sacer-
dote should have a wife and four children; and many
a joke took place upon that subject. I used to say, “Is
it not better to have children with than without a wife 2”
Englishmen of education always command respeet, with-
out any adventitious aid. A Portuguese governor left for
Angola, giving out that he was going to keep a large
establishment, and taking with him quantities of crock-
ery, and about five hundred waistcoats; but when he
arrived in Africa, he made a ‘deal’ of them. Educated
Englishmen seldom descend to that sort of thing.
A prospect is now before us of opening Africa for
commerce and the Gospel. Providence has been pre-
10
20 LECTURE I.
paring the way, for even before I proceeded to the Central
basin it had been conquered and rendered safe by a chief
named Sebituane’, and the language of the Bechua-
1 This man, according to Dr Livingstone, is the most remarkable
African who has lived for many an age. He has been truly called the
Napoleon of these parts. His interesting biography can be found at
pages 84—90, Travels. Here we can only refer to him. Unlike other
African warrior chiefs, such as Africaner, Dingaan, and Mosilikatse, his
own determined opponent, he led his men to battle in person. Terrible
and successful he was in battle. Lake Ngami was known to him before
it was discovered by our traveller and his companions. Sebituane was
forty-five years old when first known to Dr Livingstone, who describes
him as being somewhat bald, of middle height, frank, cordial, wonder-
fully fleet of foot, very popular, and of a coffee and milk colour. He
was from the South, and probably of Caffre extraction. His fortunes
were various, and his narrative is somewhat like the Commentaries of
Cesar, or the history of the British in India. For some reference to the
probable results of his conquests, see Appendix, p. 121. He, like his son
Secheletu, was touchingly kind to Dr Livingstone, commg one hundred
miles to meet and escort him to his capital, Seshaké. His desire for
intercourse with white men was most passionate. ‘The period and cir-
cumstances of his death were solemn and striking. As we have before
seen, he died soon after that meeting had occurred which both so much
desired. War was the object of his life and the cause of his death,
which occurred through an old wound in the lungs turning to inflam-
mation. On his death-bed he said to our traveller, ‘‘Come near and see
if lam any longer a man; I am done.” The native doctors said to Dr
Livingstone, who spoke to him of another life, ‘“Why do you speak of
death 2 Sebituane will never die.” >
Our traveller proceeds: ‘‘ After sitting with him some time, and
commending him to the mercy of God, I rose to depart, when the dying
chieftain, raising himself up a little from his prone position, called a
servant, and said, ‘Take Robert to Maunku (one of his wives), and tell
her to give him some milk.’ These were the last words of Sebituane.
‘“He was decidedly the best specimen of a native chief I ever met.
I never felt so much grieved by the loss of a black man before ; and it
was impossible not to follow him in thought into the world of which he
had just heard before he was called away, and to realise somewhat of the
feelings of those who pray for the dead. The deep dark question of
what is to become of such as he, must, however, be left where we find
it, believing that, assuredly, the ‘Judge of all the earth will do right.’”
COMMERCE AND CHRISTIANITY. 21
nas! made the fashionable tongue, and that was one of
the languages into which Mr Moffat had translated the
Seriptures*. Sebituane also discovered Lake Ngami
some time previous to my explorations in that part. In
going back to that country my object is to open up traffic
along the banks of the Zambesi, and also to preach the
Gospel. The natives of Central Africa are very desirous
of trading, but their only traffic is at present in slaves,
of which the poorer people have an unmitigated horror :
it is therefore most desirable to encourage the former
principle, and thus open a way for the consumption of
free productions, and the introduction of Christianity
and commerce. By encouraging the native propensity
for trade, the advantages that might be derived in a
commercial point of view are incalculable; nor should
we lose sight of the inestimable blessings it is in our
power to bestow upon the unenlightened African, by
giving him the light of Christianity. Those two pioneers
of civilization—Christianity and commerce—should ever
be inseparable ; and Englishmen should be warned by the
fruits of neglecting that principle as exemplified in the re-
sult of the management of Indian affairs. By trading with
Africa, also, we should at length be independent of slave-
labour, and thus discountenance practices so obnoxious to
every Englishman.
Though the natives are not absolutely anxious to re-
1 For an account of these people, see Appendix, pp. 86, 89.
2 For an account of this translation, see Appendix, p. 122.
3 For an account of this lake, see Appendix, p. 66.
10—2
22 LECTURE I.
ceive the Gospel, they are open to Christian influences.
Among the Bechuanas the Gospel was well received.
These people think it a crime to shed a tear, but I have
seen some of them weep at the recollection of their sins
when God had opened their hearts to Christianity and
repentance. It is true that missionaries have difficulties
to encounter; but what great enterprise was ever ac-
complished without difficulty? It is deplorable to think
that one of the noblest of our missionary societies, the
Church Missionary Society, is compelled to send to Ger-
many for missionaries, whilst other societies are amply
supplied!. Let this stain be wiped off.—The sort of men
who are wanted for missionaries are such as I see
before me ;—men of education, standing, enterprise, zeal,
and piety. It is a mistake to suppose that any one, as
long as he is pious, will do for this office. Pioneers in
every thing should be the ablest and best qualified men,
not those of small ability and education. This remark
especially applies to the first teachers of Christian truth
in regions which may never have before been blest with
the name and Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the early ages
the monasteries were the schools of Europe, and the
monks were not ashamed to hold the plough. The mis-
sionaries now take the place of those noble men, and we
should not hesitate to give up the small luxuries of life in
order to carry knowledge and truth to them that are in
darkness. I hope that many of those whom I now address
will embrace that honourable career. Education has been
1 See Appendix, p. 156.
THE MISSIONARY LIFE. 23
given us from above for the purpose of bringing to the
benighted the knowledge of a Saviour. If you knew the
satisfaction of performing such a duty, as well as the
gratitude to God which the missionary must always feel,
in being chosen for so noble, so sacred a calling, you
would have no hesitation in embracing it.
For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that
God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of
the sacrifice | have made in spending so much of my life
in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is sim-
ply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to
our God, which we can never repay!—lIs that a sacrifice
which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity,
the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a
bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter ?—Away with
the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It
is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege.
Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then,
with a foregoing of the common conveniences and cha-
rities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit
to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only be for
amoment. All these are nothing when compared with
the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in, and for, us.
I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk,
when we remember the great sacrifice which Hr made
who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for
us ;——“* Who being the brightness of that Father’s glory,
and the express image of His person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power, when He had by Him-
24 LECTURE TI.
self purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
majesty on high.”
English people are treated with respect; and the mis-
sionary can earn his living by his gun,—a course not
open to a country curate. I would rather be a poor mis-
sionary than a poor curate.
Then there is the pleasant prospect of returning home
and seeing the agreeable faces of his countrywomen again.
I suppose | present a pretty contrast to you. At Cairo
we met a party of young English people, whose faces were
quite a contrast to the skinny, withered ones of those who
had spent the latter years of their life in a tropical clime:
they were the first rosy cheeks I had seen for sixteen years ;
you can hardly tell how pleasant it is to see the bloom-
ing cheeks of young ladies before me, after an absence of
sixteen years from such delightful objects of contem-
plation. There is also the pleasure of the welcome home,
and I heartily thank you for the welcome you have given
me on the present occasion; but there is also the hope
of the welcome words of our Lord, “‘ Well done, good
and faithful servant.”
I beg to direct your attention to Africa ;—I know
that in a few years I shall be cut off in that country,
which is now open; do not let it be shut again! I go
back to Africa to try to make an open path for com-
merce and Christianity; do you carry out the work which
Ihave begun. I teaver wiry you!
LECTURE II.
Tne following Lecture was delivered in the Town-Hall,
on the day after the delivery of the other. Although
the notice was so short, crowds of persons came to
hear, who could not gain admittance. Swann Hurrell,
Esq., the Mayor, took the chair, and some members of
the Town Council were present. The anxiety of all
classes to see and hear Dr Livingstone is pleasing,
since it shews the state of public opinion on several
vital topics, especially the civilization and evangeliza-
tion of Africa. After being introduced to the assembly,
the Doctor, without any prefatory remarks, took his
wand, and began to point towards some maps of Africa
just above his head, in his usual manner speaking as
follows :—
N turning to the map of South Africa, I want to
draw your attention to three imaginary zones, on the
southern part, all different in population and climate.
You will see that this part of Africa forms a kind of cone.
This cone can be divided into three longitudinal bands or
zones, just spoken of: the eastern band comprises what
is generally known as Kafirland, which has been rather
a difficult nut to crack for the English nation. However,
the Kafir war has at length ended, both parties owning
26 LECTURE TI.
themselves tired; only we had to pay two millions of
money, and lost a great many valuable lives as well. That
part of the country is mountainous and well watered. The
central zone, or Bechuana country, is comparatively dry,
being seldom visited by rain; and its inhabitants, the
Bechuanas, Bushmen, and Bakalahari, &c., are not nearly
so warlike as the Caffres. Passing towards the West, we
come to a level plain called the Kalahari desert, not con-
sisting of barren sands, like the generally received notions
of deserts, but covered with grass, bushes and trees, and
containing a population of Bushmen and other people
called the Bakalahari. I lived sixteen years on the borders .
of the Kalahari desert ; and having gone to the country
in 1841, I was naturally anxious to ascertain the effect
the teaching of the missionaries had produced.
I must own that I was disappointed in what I saw,
having formed rather sanguine expectations. I forwarded
the result of my inquiries to the London Missionary Soci-
ety, by whom I was sent out, and after a little time went
to the country beyond, where I found the people in just
the same state as the missionaries found those I had
left ; and when I compared those I had just come amongst
with the people with whom I had recently lived, the bene-
fit of the missionary teaching then appeared great indeed.
True, the African when Christianised is not so elevated as
we who have had the advantages of civilization and Chris-
tianity for ages; but still, when rescued from the degradation
and superstitions of heathenism, he evinces improvement
LECTURE II. 27
in an eminent degree. We should compare new converts
who are still surrounded with all their old associations of
heathenism, rather with the churches first planted by the
Apostles, than with ourselves. Public opinion, law, cus-
tom, and general manners, with us who have enjoyed the
inestimable blessings of the Gospel so long, are so essen-
tially different from those which governed the converts of
the first Christian age, and which still influence those new
disciples of the better way among whom our modern Mis-
sionaries labour. If these latter soldiers of the cross have
sometimes to mourn over the inconsistencies of their con-
verts, it must be remembered that such was also the case
with the Apostles, as their writings prove; especially
those of St Paul, the great Apostle of the Gentiles.
I was not at all anxious to enter on the labours of
other men; for I consider that the young missionary should
devote himself as much as possible to his own field of duty,
and not interfere with any other man’s labour, but go to
the real heathen, who may not as yet have heard Christ’s
name, or received his Gospel. Through the instrumen-
tality of Mr Moffat!, the Bechuanas have the Bible in
their own language. To shew the value put on the sacred
volume, in the first editions there were two sorts, one
rather cheaper than the other and the binding less costly.
The natives, who are rather inclined to be niggardly, pur-
chased the cheap edition, thinking the binding stronger;
1 For an account of this Bechuana Bible of Mr Moffat’s, see
Appendix, p. 122.
28 LECTURE Li.
but finding it was not so, they soon bought all the more
costly Bibles with avidity.
Mr Moffat’s labours, for the first ten years of his mi-
nistration, were not attended with any apparent success ;
and a large body of the tribe left the district in which
he preached; and went a hundred miles away, in order
to get out of the reach of his preaching, thinking te
live in their own way without any stings of conscience ;
but in the latter respect they were mistaken, for the
seed of the Gospel had taken root in their hearts, and
they were obliged to send to the missionaries for assist-
ance, and their chiefs used to go backwards and for-
wards for teaching: there was a constant relay going
to the missionaries and coming back to teach those whom
they left at home. When first visited by the mission-
ary, one hundred were considered proper subjects for
baptism, and the Church there now numbers upwards of
three hundred in that one village. Many native mission-
ary stations are dispersed around. It is an indisputable
fact that when a man feels the value of the Gospel him-
self, in his own heart, he is ever anxious to impart its
blessing to others. Travelling still in the south, I de-
termined to visit a tribe called the bakwains, resolving to
go to the country beyond Kuruman, and when I com-
menced preaching the Gospel to them, I seemed as one
who came with a lie or with some political object in view ;
hence they received me with suspicion, saying, ‘“ It is too
good to be true,” adding, “this man has some other de-
LECTURE TI, 29
sign, which we shall soon see;” for they thought it strange
that a man should leave his own tribe to preach to others:
this caution was rather a good trait in their character, for
it prevented them making sudden professions like the
South Sea Islanders.
Their chief! is a remarkable man, not an average
specimen of his people. He resolved at once to learn
to read; and on the very first day of my visit acquired
the alphabet. Sechele one day said to me, after I had
been preaching to the tribe, ‘‘ Do you imagine you will
get these people to believe by just talking to them?
I can do nothing without thrashing them. If you
want them to believe, I, and my under-chiefs, will get
our whips of Rhinoceros’ hide, and soon make them all
believe.” That was before he understood the Gospel;
he soon after began to feel its influence, but, as he ex-
pressed himself, could not disentangle himself from his
country’s custom of having more wives than one. ‘This
was a source of disquietude to him. Feeling the Gospel
at heart, he talked no longer of thrashing his people, but
suggested frequent prayer-meetings. Accordingly, when
he consulted me on the subject pressing so much on his
mind, and especially about baptism, for which he applied
about two years after he professed Christianity, I simply
asked him if he thought he was doing right? What he
thought he ought to do? I never preached against
1 The chief here mentioned is Sechele. For an account of him, see
note, p. 4.
0 LECTURE JI,
©
polygamy, but left the matter to take its course!. Sechele
went away, and sent home four of his wives, giving each
a new dress, &c., saying he had no fault to find with them,
but the sole reason for parting with them was conviction
in the truth of the Gospel, and therefore the separation
was a relief to his mind; hence I was saved from many
anxious thoughts on this matter. These women and their
friends henceforth became the determined enemies both
of myself and Sechele. Now, among the Africans, if a
chief is fond of hunting, dancing, or drinking, his people
are ever anxious to follow in the same pursuits; but with
Christianity this was not the case. Sechele was both
astonished and disappointed at finding the people stand
aloof from his meetings, and his under-chiefs oppose both
him and me. J and my cause were now unpopular. Un-
fortunately at this time there was a four years’ drought ;
and the people believed implicitly that their chief had the
power of making rain, and since none had come for so
long a time, they suspected me of having thrown a charm
over him, and would not allow him to make the rain. He
was the rain-maker of the tribe; and this fact was easily
connected with my instruments and movements, to them
so unfathomable. If Sechele was thus the accredited
rain-maker of the tribe, I was now the self-appointed
necromancer, and he had become my unconscious victim.
1 The reason stated for so doing, in answer to a question put, at the
conversazione at my house, is very striking, ‘‘I never preached against
polygamy, since I was sure that when the Gospel took effect, it would
operate on the mind just as it did with Sechele.”
LECTURE II. 31
Many of these people waited on me, begging me to
allow them to make only a few showers, really thinking
that I was purposely preventing the rain from descending.
One old man used to come to me, and say, “ The corn is
yellow for want of rain; the cattle want grass; the chil-
dren require milk; the people lack water, therefore only
let our chief make the showers to come, and then he may
sing and pray as long as he likes.” Looking at my
peculiar circumstances, this drought was remarkable. I
watched the clouds as anxiously as they; and many a
cloudy morning, promising refreshing showers, turned
into a cloudless day as parching as ever. They declared
that the people would starve, or all leave the district, and
I should have no one to preach to. It was quite heart-
rending to hear them, seeing their distress ; and especially
keeping in mind their mental, moral, and spiritual de-
gradation.
I endeavoured to persuade them that no mortal could
control the rain, and their argument was, ‘“ We know
very well that God makes the rain; we pray to him by
means of medicines. You use medicines to give to a
sick man, and sometimes he dies: you don’t give up
your medicine, because one man dies; and when any one
is cured by it, you take the credit. So, the only thing
we can do is to offer our medicines, which, by continued
application, may be successful.” The only way to era-
dicate’ such absurdities from the minds of these poor
people is to give them the Gospel. They entertain a
horror of Christianity, because they imagine that every
32 LECTURE I.
one who becomes a Christian does not want rain,
regarding me as the leader of the anti-rain faction.
Those who became converted, therefore, cannot be
regarded as hypocrites; for hypocrites do not generally
take the line that ensures an empty stomach. I have
no doubt the Gospel is entering into their hearts; for
when I have been passing their houses, I have fre-
quently heard them engaged in prayer, in a loud tone of
voice. It is considered very disgraceful for men to cry
in Africa; a stoical indifference to all sorrow or suffering
is their educated practice. Yet have I seen stern men in
public assemblies, erying out, like the jailor at Philippi,
and weeping in the most piteous manner about the
concerns of their souls. I doubt not, though 1 may not
live to see it, but that God will bring my ministry in
that region to a good result.
The difficulty of the chief Sechele, as I said before,
was with regard to his five wives. The father of this
man had been murdered, and four of the principal men
had assisted in restoring the son to the chieftainship of
the tribe: to shew his gratitude for which service, he had
married a daughter of each of his benefactors; now, he
could not very well put them away without appearing
ungrateful. I found great difficulty in this matter: the
Wives were my aptest scholars, and I wished to save them
as well as the Chief. In consequence of being sent away,
these women and their friends became bitter enemies of
Christianity. Furthermore, the African has a passion for
an alliance with great men; on being introduced, he is sure
LECTURE II. 33
to tell you that he is the remote cousin, relation or de-
scendant, of some noted man; or some friend or hanger-
on will tell you for him. Such alliances too have a politi-
cal importance for the chief himself; since they attach
powerful men to his interests and service. Hence my dif-
ficulties were increased by these facts. But the most dif-
cult opponents I had to contend against were the Dutch
Boers},
1 Dr Livingstone often discusses these people, and has little reason
to remember them favourably. He is too liberal-minded and straight-
forward for them, and hence they threatened his life. They now reside
chiefly near the Kalahari desert, being also numerous about the Kuru-
man station, where they are characterized for industry and successful
irrigation. The more distant or transversal Boers reside behind the
Cashan mountains. These were particularly furious against the Doctor.
These people increase rapidly, and are sheep-farmers ; being somewhat
deservedly held in low estimation by the Cape community. In manners
they are kind one towards another, but cruel to the natives. The word
‘* Boer” simply means ‘‘ farmer.” Frequent fights occur between them
and the Hottentots, Griquas, and Bechuanas, with varied results. Our
traveller considers the British policy of allowing them and the Ka-
firs to have arms and ammunition, while the Bechuanas and Griquas are
debarred therefrom, to be suicidal, The metal-pot story is amusingly
told in the book, pp. 36—39.
The most disaffected are those who have fled from English law. They
have set up a republic, in order to carry out what they call ‘‘the proper
treatment of the blacks,” which is making them render compulsory
unpaid labour, in return for what they call protection! These tender-
hearted Christians have introduced a new species of slavery. The Bechu-
anas will not sell their people: hence the Boers seize children for domes-
tic slaves. The reason why they do this is a shrewd one. As we have
seen, there can be no fugitive slave-law in Africa ; hence if ‘a slave runs
away, it is not very probable that he will be recovered. Ifa child is taken
away, he does not know his tribe, forgets his mother-tongue, and pos-
sibly his very parents ; hence he has less inducement to run away. On
the occasion of the attack on Sechele (see Introduction, pp. V—vu11), they
carried away the two hundred children above-named, with the motives
and for the purposes stated. In truth they are inveterate slave-hunters
b4 LECTURE IT.
Two hundred years ago, a number of Dutch and
French people, the descendants of pious families, fled
from the persecutions in Holland and France, and settled
at and around the Cape. But their descendants fled from
the British dominion in Cape Colony, on account of the
emancipation by the government of their Hottentot
slaves. They said, they did not like a government that
made no difference between a black man and a white one:
they therefore made forays and slavery incursions, and
established themselves where they could pursue their
slave-holding propensities with impunity. No fugitive
slave-law being in operation, hundreds of Africans fled
from the Boers to Sechele, and the Dutch consequently
desired to get rid of that chief. They attacked the
Bakwains while I was staying among them; and had
frequent battles with the people, killing many of them
in these unequal conflicts. As an illustration as to
how far exaggeration can be carried, on one occasion, |
lent the chief a cooking-pot, which the Boers afterwards
magnified into a cannon! and 5 guns into 500; writing
and dealers, the more distant revelling in slothful idleness on the industry
of the natives. Themselves they call ‘‘Christians ;” the natives, ‘‘ black
property,” or ‘‘creatures ;” saying, that God has given them ‘‘the
heathen for an inheritance.”
This accursed system has made them fraudulent and mean-spirited ;
English missionaries, traders and travellers are their abomination, fear-
ing that they will enlighten the natives, and especially give them fire-
arms. Hear our traveller’s decision about the matter, as far as he is
concerned: “The Boers resolved to shut up the interior, and I deter-
mined to open the country ; and we shall see who have been most suc-
cessful in resolution, they or 1.”—TZravels, p. 39.
LECTURE II. 35
to the English authorities, to inform them that I was
protecting the Bakwains with cannon; and even some
Boers were killed with guns. The reputation of this
cannon kept the Boers away for seven years; but when
their independence was declared by the Colonial govern-
ment, they again made war upon the Bakwains, and being
mounted and possessing guns, had the advantage, but it
so happened that the Bakwains killed some of the Boers
in one foray, and the latter gave me all the credit for it:
asserting as a reason, ‘These people knew nothing of
shooting till this Englishman came among them, and he
has taught it them.” The Boers, however, ultimately
were victorious, and carried off 200 children of the Bak-
wains into slavery, killing 60 adults.
Sechele, knowing that such a proceeding was contrary
to their engagements, and all law, set off to go to the Queen
of England, to tell her of their conduct. I met him on his
way to the Cape, and endeavoured to persuade him from
going any further; on explaining the difficulties of the way,
and endeavouring to dissuade him from the attempt, he
put the pointed question :—*“ Will the Queen not listen to
me, supposing I should reach her?” I replied, ‘I believe
she would listen, but the difficulty is to get to her.” He
had many conversations with me on the subject, but he
was determined, however, in his course, and proceeded
to Cape Town.
Now, it so happened, that the Governor of Cape
Colony had just sent home a flaming account of the
if
36 LECTURE IT.
peace and happiness that would prevail under his plan,
and had he taken any notice of Sechele it would have
been a virtual confession, that he had made a mull: con-
sequently the chief and myself met with little encourage-
ment. He had an interview with the Governor, to whom
he delivered a letter from me, offering to point out the
whole of the children, but all to no purpose: it is
convenient sometimes for governors to be deaf, and shrug
their shoulders, and to put political expediency before
individual right.- The British officers at the Cape, how-
ever—for Iinglish officers, wherever they are, are al-
ways fond of fair play—advised Sechele to go on, and
subscribed £113 for him; but not knowing the value of
money, he soon spent it all, giving a sovereign where
sixpence would do, and so on; so that he found
himself, at length, a thousand miles from home, and
as poor as when he started. Instead of feeling angry
at the ill-success of his mission, he began to preach
to the natives around, and many anti-slavery tribes
enlisted under him: consequently he has now many more
people than he had before, and finds it hard work
to be both priest and king. He opened a prayer-
meeting, and, in fact, became his own missionary
among his own people. He built himself a house and a
school, and was the means of converting his wife. The
people clustered around him, and there is every reason to
believe that he is a sincere Christian.
What we greatly need is more missionaries to sow
LECTURE II. 37
the seed of spiritual truth, The fields are white to the
harvest. Glorious is the prospect of the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit on all the ends of the earth. Labourers
are wanted in the heathen vineyard of the Lord. As yet
the missionary has only put in the thin end of the wedge
towards the advancement of the kingdom of heaven in
those dark places of the earth, which are still full of the
habitations of cruelty—Africa, especially. Where, as
yet, are the mission stations of North or South central
Africa? Yet there are numbers of tribes,
*“In those romantic regions men grow wild,
There dwells the negro, Nature’s outcast child.”
As an encouragement to those who think of being mis-
sionaries, I need not say more than e¢all to remembrance
those Reformers who founded our Colleges here. The
missionary’s work is one of the most honourable a man
can desire. Think of those Reformers; who would not
like to be one of them? ‘The missionaries now are just
in their position. Those who now go forth as missiona-
ries, and endeavour to advance the knowledge of Christ
and His Gospel, are pre-eminently their representatives.
Like the morning star before the dawn, they entered into
the thick darkness, and began the glorious work of mak-
ing known the promises of Christ, for which posterity will
bless their name. Indeed to be a missionary is a great
privilege and honour. The work is so great and glorious,
that it has this promise of Him who “is the same yester-
day, to-day, and for ever :”—‘ I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee,” —encouraging both itself and its promoters.
11—e
38 LECTURE £1,
Finding that I could not successfully carry on the
work of a missionary among the Bakwains, I eon-
ceived the idea of becoming a traveller. The question
came across my mind, Whither will you go, to the North
or to the South? I resolved to go to the North, to en-
deavour to open the country to the coast. Having got
into the country beyond the Kalahari desert, bounded to
the south by Lake Ngami, I came into quite a different
country, where there are a great many rivers which flow
from the sides into the centre. They form a very large
river. The Zambesi is very much broader than the
Thames at London Bridge. This large river flows out
at the east end until it gets into the central basin by
means of a fissure, which is 600 feet above the level of
the sea. It was highly necessary for that fissure to be
made. If it had not, a lake would have had to be formed
for the purpose of getting away the very large amount of
water which flows into the central basin. The rivers
there are not like those in our country, since their sides
are perpendicular. The region beyond the Kalahari
desert is in the form of a basin, covered with a layer
of calcareous tufa, intersected by the course of the Zam-
besi, which flows Southward until it reaches near Lin-
yanti, and then branches off to the East. In the Kala-
hari desert there is not a single flowing stream, and the
only water there is found in deep wells; but at certain
periods of the year water-melons are found in abundance,
upon the fluid of which oxen and men have subsisted for
days, obviating thereby the necessity for carrying water.
LECTURE II. 39
Animals are also plentiful; and though they took care
to keep out of bow-shot, I found that with my gun
I could kill as many as were wanted. In my journey
beyond the desert, I met with many antelopes of a kind
before unknown to naturalists, besides elephants, buffaloes,
zebras, &e.
The chief of the central basin I have described, is
named Sekeletu. I proposed to teach him to read, but
he said he was afraid it would change his heart, and make
him content with only one wife, like Sechele. I told him
if he were content with one, what did it matter? But he
said, “No, no; I always want to have five. I intend to
keep them.” Seeing I was anxious that he should learn
to read, he subjected his father-in-law to learn first, as
some men like to see the effect of medicines on other
people, before they imbibe them themselves; and finding
that it did him no harm, Sekeletu was taught long enough
to gain the ability to read.
I entered this central basin, in order to find out a
path to the sea: 1 might have gone to the west from
Linyanti, but the eountry in that direction is infested
with an insect called Tsetse, whose bite is fatal to
most tame animals. ‘To escape the insect plague, I
resolved to go northwards and westwards to Loanda,
the capital of Angola, a large city containing 12,000
inhabitants, a cathedral, and a Jesuit college. Having
got down to the West coast, I found I had not accom-
plished my object of finding a path to the sea, the
40 LECTURE TI.
way being beset with difficulties and almost impassable.
In fact, the only conveyance was ox-back, and dense
forests had to be passed through by tortuous paths. I
resolved, therefore, to go back, and try if the Zambesi did
not furnish a good pathway to the eastern coast.
I did not find the people in that direction quite so well
disposed towards me as the western tribes: the former
were accustomed to the slave-trade, and asked payment for
every thing: they prayed to the departed spirits of dead
men, and believed that the deceased had power to’ in-
fluence the living. When I was at Cassange, the farthest
inland station of the Portuguese, the governor, with whom
I was stopping, had a sick child, and the nurse sent for a
diviner to tell the cause of its illness. This man worked
himself into frenzy, foamed at the mouth, and, pretending
to be speaking under the influence of the fit, said the
child was being killed by the soul of a trader, whose
goods its father had stolen, and he said he should make
an offering to appease the vengeance of the departed spirit.
Now, it so happened that a native of Cassange had re-
cently died, leaving an assignment, under which the
governor had taken his goods; and the natives, not un-
derstanding the circumstances, said he had robbed him.
This was the diviner’s cue. The governor quietly sent
to a friend of his, and they each took a stick, and ap-
plied them with such force to the back of the diviner,
that he fled in the most undignified manner. I have
never read of clairvoyance or spirit-rapping being tested
i
LECTURE II. 4]
similarly, but probably the trial would be equally suc-
cessful.
My journey to Loanda was productive of delight among
the natives whom I had left, and on returning to Linyanti
the chief sent several tusks to Loanda for sale; the men
also got goods, but by the time they got back to Lin-
yanti, had been so afflicted with fever, that they were
all expended. Only 27 accompanied me to Loanda, but
when the people found I was going to find a path to the
east, 114 volunteered to join me.
The people of that central part were anxious to have
intercourse with white men, and their productions of
cotton, indigo, &c. cannot fail to render commerce with
them advantageous. Without the central basin, also,
besides cotton, there are extensive coal-fields, with nine
seams upon the surface, as well as an abundance of iron
ore of the best quality. There is also produced a fibrous
plant worth £50 or £60 a ton; and I have the authority
of an English merchant to state, that a fabric finer and
stronger than flax might be woven from it. The wild
vine grows here in great luxuriance, and might be
brought, by cultivation, to bear the most delicious grapes.
On each side of the southern portion of Africa is an
elevated ridge, in the centre of which flows the Zambesi,
forming an oblong inclosure. The climate on the sides of
each elevation is different to that of the centre; Mr
Moffat having found a species of the Angola goat, which
flourishes in the Northern part of Asia, on the high-land;
42 LECTURE II.
wheat also grows there well. This climate is, therefore,
not open to the usual objection that Europeans could
not live there. Some of the elevations in this part are
about 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The
country hereabout is one of gradual elevation; still
there are different climates, ridges, and elevations, and
the heat at times very great; the high-lands generally
are cool and salubrious, and fit for European residence.
The Zambesi was full when I passed it, but even
at low water it was as deep as the Thames in
London, and therefore, might be traversed by a tolerably
sized steamer. At the junction of other rivers with the
Zambesi there is a rapid, and the coal-field to which I
have alluded is near it; but the river is otherwise free
from obstruction, and I trust will be the means of con-
veying the productions of that country to this, and thus
opening the way for commerce and civilization to the
benighted Africans upon its banks.
The people of the interior are very desirous to hold
intercourse with white men. Having been cradled in
wars’ alarms, they ask, ‘* When will you bring us sleep?”
‘“We want sleep!” meaning peace. One reason of
my being well received in the country was, because it
had got noised abroad that I had come for that purpose.
One report told to the Portuguese governor at Teté was,
“That the Son of God was coming, with the moon under
°
his arm,” alluding to me and my sextant. Several depu-
tations from towns and villages in the interior, in waiting
LECTURE II. 43
on me, asked for “sleep.” Such was also the topic of
the songs, and talk of the women.
All this evidences a certain preparedness for receiv-
ing the Gospel, and it is for Christian England to
answer the inquiry with the pure Gospel of the Prince
of Peace. Already Providence is clearing the way for
that Gospel; the hand of God has been at work in a
striking manner. When I first went to that country, |
found Providence paving the way before me: a chieftain
had invaded the central basin, before I went there;
had conquered the country, discovered Lake Ngami; and
the language of the Bechuanas, into which Mr Moffat
had translated the Scriptures, had become diffused in the
district.
The natives formerly used to cut off the heads of
strangers, and stick them on poles; but the chief! who
conquered them had made the country safe, otherwise
my cranium might have adorned one of their villages. I
am convinced that the Portuguese have never gone into
this district, because their maps gave a different course
to the Zambesi; and I am strengthened in that opinion
from the quantity of ivory tusks I saw adorning the
graves of chieftains, and put to other uses, thereby
proving that there was no market for them. Another
reason is, that they sent all the way to Mozambiaue for
1 The chief here referred to is Sebituane ; for an account of him, see
p. 20. The natives here referred to are the Batoka, with several of
whom our traveller had some difficulties.
4b LECTURE II.
lime, when there were large marble quarries within a
comparatively short distance. I therefore believe that I
am the first European who has entered that region. But
now they have the Bible in their own language, it is the
fashionable language, and the missionary has no difficulty
in communicating with them; thus shewing that the
hand of Providence has been at work.
When I was at Loanda, I was laid up with the fevers
of the country, and being very weak, Captain Beding-
field, with whom I was upon intimate terms, strongly
persuaded me to go home, offering a free passage;
however, I having brought the twenty-seven men from
Sekeletu, had no desire to leave them; and commit-
ting certain papers and maps to the care of that officer,
bade him farewell. Soon after, I received intelligence
that the ship had gone down off Madeira, and my
papers with it. Several lives were lost, but my friend
was saved; but probably had I gone with the ship, I
should have been drowned; and had I, on the other
hand, first travelled eastward, I should have gone in
the midst of the skirmishes that were then going on
between the Portuguese and the Kafirs, and might have
been cut off among them. Even when I travelled in that
direction, I was in some danger; but when I said I was
an Englishman, I was allowed to pass. I was told that
if I went to the East, the people who were for the support
of the Portuguese government would perhaps kill me; I
said that I loved a black man as well as a white man. I
LECTURE I. 45
often found that I rose in the estimation of the people
among whom I passed, when it was told I was an
Englishman, one of that country which is engaged in
putting down slavery: they called me “the right sort of
white man.”
In the middle of the country they passed me off in
a way that I scarcely liked. The people imagine that
all white people, and the manufactures they import, come
out of the sea, and suppose that the whites live under
the water; also, that if they leave slaves, fruits, &c. on
the sea-shore, that then the white men come up and
take them away. My men were asked, Whether I came
out of the sea? “ Yes,” said they, ‘“‘don’t you see how
straight the water has made his hair?” Not relishing
the idea of being passed off as a merman, I endeavoured
to dissipate the idea, but.the story was too good to be
easily got rid of. The Africans, whose hair is all wool,
could not understand my head, and some of them declared
that I wore a wig made of a lion’s mane 1
1 This idea of the white man actually living in the sea is largely pre-
valent in Africa. One cause of the terror of the natives at the European
is, a report maliciously spread about that the white man takes the slaves
into the sea, and actually eats them. Major Laing’s experience was
somewhat like Dr Livingstone’s. He penetrated into Africa, in 1822,
from Sierra Leone, as far as Soolimana, and relates the following piece
of African droll simplicity concerning himself. Among the Kooranko
people he was hailed with delighted astonishment, as being the first
white man they had ever seen. All classes vied in doing him honour.
The men and women sung in alternate choruses as follows: the men
sung, ‘Of the white man who came out of the water to live among the
46 LECTURE IT,
My object in labouring as I have in Africa, is to
open up the country to commerce and Christianity.
This is my object m returning thither. I contend that
we ought not to be ashamed of our religion, and had
we not kept this so much out of sight in India, we should
not be now in such straits in that country. Let us
appear just what we are. For my own part, I intend to
go out as a missidnary, and hope boldly, but with civility,
to state the truth of Christianity and my belief that
those who do not possess it are in error. My object in
Africa is not only the elevation of man, but that the
country might be so opened, that man might see the need
of his soul’s salvation.
I propose in my next expedition to visit the Zambesi,
and to propitiate the different chiefs along its banks,
Kooranko people ; the white man ate nothing but fish when he lived in
the water, and that is the cause of his being so thin. If he came among
black men he would get fat, for they would give him cows, goats, and
sheep to eat, and his thirst should be quenched with draughts of milk.”
The women were less complimentary, and shewed a spirit not quite
so kindly as those did to Mungo Park. The burden of the ladies’ song,
after the dance, was, ‘‘Of the white man who had come to their town ;
of the houseful of money which he had, such cloth, such beads, such fine
things as had never been seen in Kooranko before. If their husbands
were men, and wished to see their wives well dressed, they ought to take
some of the money from the white man!” This counsel had a bad
effect, and was mainly set aside by the major’s native attendant, Tamba,
shrewdly slipping in and singing, ‘‘ Of Sierra Leone, of houses a mile
in length filled with money ; that the white man who was here had
nothing compared with those at Sierra Leone ; if therefore they wished
to see some of these rich men come into Kooranko, they must not
trouble this one ; whoever wanted to see a snake’s tail must not strike
it on the head.”—Lond. Encyclop. Vol. 1. p. 259.
LECTURE Ti. 47
endeavouring to induce them to cultivate cotton, and to
abolish the slave-trade: already they trade in ivory and
gold-dust, and are anxious to extend their commercial
operations. There is thus a probability of their interests
being linked with ours, and thus the elevation of the
African would be the result.
I believe England is alive to her duty of civilizing
and Christianizing the heathen. We cannot all go out as
missionaries, it is true; but we may all do something to-
wards providing a substitute: moreover, all may especially
do that which every missionary highly prizes, viz. com-
MEND THE WORK IN THEIR PRAYERS. I HOPE THAT
THOSE WHOM | Now ADDRESS, WILL BOTH PRAY FOR,
AND HELP THOSE WHO ARE THEIR SUBSTITUTES.
Cyn ‘ . weuse - \ mm
7 ea cant shot ndtinhaadar abt tl a
Leider weds besten of: avokiabiey ors |e
pe wend! area yt: by eo @ aisiltya +i neta :
m | ' tai : ‘ F
vis al ‘eo r , thas pouting, Ri ts
A TE EN DEX
BY THE
REV. WILLIAM MONK.
APPEN DIX.
Tuts Appendix is intended to convey valuable information
illustrative of the Lectures, drawn mainly from Dr Living-
stone’s own sources. Hence this part of the book is in reality
essentially his own.
The explorations and discoveries made by him are herein
discussed on two grounds—as to their extent, and as to their
resulls.
Some of the subjects are treated at greater length, because
they are of so much importance, and yet are only glanced at
in the Lectures: the main object of this Appendix being to
give new information to the general reader, and not to discuss
topics well known, or of trifling consequence.
The missionary question is kept in view, since the Lec-
tures are so substantially missionary ; and because his design
in coming to Cambridge referred chiefly to such matters.
These labours, explorations and discoveries will be briefly
considered as to their extent and results under four aspects, viz. :
]. The Historical.
2. The Scientific.
3. The Ethnological.
4. The Moral and Religious.
Section 1.—Dr Livingstones Explorations and Discoveries
considered as to their extent and results in their HistoricaL
ASPECT.
**One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day.” 2 Pet. iii. 8.
‘‘Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
1 Cor. xiii. 8.
It is well known that “ What is central Africa?” is a
question which has been asked in despair for many an age
past. The unsatisfactory replies which have been given to
12
52 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
this inquiry in the shape of expeditions lost, hopes defeated,
projects abandoned, and theories proved false, make our tra-
veller’s successful solution of it to become the more completely
triumphant. It has taken a long series of years to help us to
know as much of the geography of Africa as we do.
The earliest voyages to the eastern coast were
an ab those to Tarshish and to Ophir, mentioned in
exploration of Scripture. The Phoenicians under Pharaoh Ne-
central Africa, cho are said to have circumnavigated this con-
as well as of .. : : may
cad hedussa, tinent in three years. Likewise it is reported
that Sataspes, a Persian nobleman, was com-
manded by Xerxes to attempt such a voyage, as a penal sen-
tence commuted from death, but he did not succeed.
According to Strabo, Eudoxus, a native of Cyzicus, made
a like attempt. The Carthaginians actively tried both to ex-
plore the interior, and to survey the coasts. The Periplus of
Hanno contains a journal of his voyage with the latter view.
Antiquity is almost silent about any explorations of the
interior. Whatever references to these have been transmitted
to us by the ancients, they differ from those of Dr Livingstone
in the significant respect, that they were a// attempted from
the north of the continent, while his were accomplished from
the south. In fact, most of the ancient and modern expe-
ditions not only set out from a point differing from his, but
also refer more to central north than to central south Atrica.
Until his labours threw new light on the latter, the former
has hitherto been far the best known.
Herodotus says that five young Nasamonians penetrated
across the Great Desert from the north, possibly as far as the
Niger. It is thought that this great historian knew the true
sources of the Nile. Cambyses sent two divisions of his
army to explore towards the south and south-west; but with
disastrous results. Alexander visited the temple of Jupiter
Ammon, which stood in the oasis to the west of Alexandria,
Under the Ptolemies attempts at exploration were made; also
a
1.| THE HISTORICAL ASPECT. 53
by the Romans, but with no results at all commensurate with
the enterprising spirit of the two nations, and with their great
national resources. Ptolemy was extensively acquainted with
central North Africa, especially with its river system. In
truth, after ample allowance has been made for the loss of
ancient literature, especially for that of the great libraries at
Alexandria,—we can fairly conclude that the ancients pos.
sessed little accurate knowledge of central Africa. J*arther
we mnay say, that they knew far less of central South Africa
than we do now through the publication of Dr Livingstone’s
single Book of Travels.
idee piaiee The Arabians at various times have made
the modern at- themselves far better acquainted with interior
tempts to ex- Africa than we give them credit for. These
plore the Afri- ae e :
can continent, restless spirits not alone overran parts of Asia
up to the time and Europe during the middle ages, but also
of Dr Living- : : : P
ae a © large portions of Africa, Since the time that
the power both of their arms and science waned
in the 14th century, European enterprise has almost exclusively
carried on these explorations.
About the time of the discovery of America by Columbus,
Portuguese navigators by degrees ploughed their way down the
African coast, round the Cape of Good Hope and up two-
thirds of the eastern side; still the great enigma of the interior
was unsolved by them. The chief of these were Tristan Vaz,
Gileanez, Diege Cam, Covillan, Payna, Bartholomew Diaz,
and Vasco de Gama, sent out by Portuguese monarchs during
the 15th century.
The first European navigator who doubled the Cape,
was a Portuguese, Bartholomew Diaz, im 1492, who called it
Cabo Tormentoso, a name which was afterwards converted by
his master, King John of Portugal, into the Cape of Good
Hope. In 1496, Vasco de Gama doubled this Cape, and in
1510, Francis Almeida was defeated and killed in an engage-
ment with the Hottentots, not far from the site of the present
]2—2
54 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Cape Town. In 1620, two English vessels took formal
possession of Saldanha Bay, and in 1620, a Dutch surgeon,
Van Riebeck, settled a colony there. In 1795, a British
Squadron possessed itself of the colony, which was however
restored to Holland at the treaty of Amiens in 1802. In
1806, it was again wrested from the Dutch, and at the peace
of Paris in 1814, it was finally ceded to Great Britain.
The slave-trade was the first incentive for exploring the
interior among Europeans. Claude Jannequin, a Frenchman,
in 1637, went up the river Senegal, a distance of 70 leagues.
In 1788, the “ African Association” was formed for the
express purpose of opening up central Africa. Messrs Ledyard
and Lucas were sent out by this useful society; in connexion
with which the celebrated Mungo Park sailed on two expe-
ditions. Under the same auspices Messrs Browne, Blumen-
bach, Hornemann, Nicholls, and Burckhardt, successively
went out with like objects of exploration. Timbuktu was
about this time described by Adams, Jackson, and Riley.
Early in the next century Captain Tuckey and Major
Peddie, as well as an expedition sent out by the African
Company, made attempts at further exploration. Next fol-
lowed Captain Lyon and Major Laing, who published in-
teresting volumes of travels. In 1621 Dr Oudney, Major
Denham and Lieut. Clapperton were dispatched with like
objects by government. The efforts of Mr Bruce and of the
two Landers are not to be forgotten; as well as the several
Niger expeditions.
With reference to the efforts especially made
Attempts —_ to open up central South Africa, I quote with
madetoexplore ,
South Africa, great pleasure from a valuable account kindly
contributed for this work by Dr Norton Shaw:
** Zeal for discovery in Africa has sent a succession of tra-
vellers to explore also the southern portion. The first who
penetrated any considerable distance into the interior was
Captain Hop, who in 1761 made his way into the country of
the Namaquas.
1. | THE HISTORICAL ASPECT. 55
“In the years 1775 and 1785, Sparrman and Le Vaillant
travelled in the territories of the Bushmen about 400 miles to
the north of Cape Town. Mr Barrow in 1797 traversed from
the Kafir region on the east to the Namaquas on the west,
including the desert of the Great Karee, as far north as the
Snow Mountains. In 1801, this barrier range was crossed for
the first time by Messrs Trotter and Somerville, who, passing
the Orange River, penetrated Lataku.
‘“* Another party under the command of Dr Cowan and
Lieutenant Donovan, proceeding from Cape Town towards
Mosambique, had reached some distance beyond Lataku,
when they were murdered by the natives. A few years
afterwards Dr Lichtenstein, from 1803 to 1806, penetrated
to Lataku, and furnished on his return valuable information
respecting the tribes in that direction; and Dr Burchell in
1812, again penetrated into the same regions, and published
a work with a map, giving the results of his travels from
1811 to1815. Latrobe’s Journal of his visit to South Africa
in 1815 appeared in 1818; but in 1813, a missionary,
Mr John Campbell, reached Lataku, and in 1820 proceeded
from thenee towards the north and east to the borders of a
desert which he was told extended far to the west. In 1823,
Mr George Thompson visited Lataku, and afterwards pub-
lished his travels in Southern Africa, with a good map of the
interior.
“In addition to the above, several other volumes have been
published, including the two voyages of Thunberg, Patterson’s
Narrative of his journey into the country of the Hottentots
and Kaffraria; and Reenen’s journey from the Cape of Good
Hope; White’s Voyage to Delagoa Bay; Semples’ Journey
from Cape Town; Kay’s Researches in Kaffraria; Moodie’s
Ten Years in South Africa; Gleedman’s Wanderings and
Phillips's Researches in South Africa: Stavorinus, Percival,
Pringle, Bunbury, and Gardiner, have also given the result
of their experiences.
“In 1835, Dr Andrew Smith left Cape Town to visit the
56 APPENDIX. . [ SECT.
sources of the Caledon and Muprita rivers, ascended the
Caffrarian Mountains and advanced as far as lat. 23° south,
having made large botanical and other collections, and laid
down his route with great accuracy. Mecham and Jones
were the first to penetrate with waggons overland to Delagoa
Bay, and Captain Gardiner arrived within a short distance
of the sources of the Orange River. In 1836, Captain Sir J.
Alexander, in the employ of the Royal Geographical Society of
London, during a route of about 1500 miles, crossed the Orange
River, 100 miles from its mouth, proceeded north as far as
Nabis, thence north-west, and crossed the Hoop or Great Fish
River in lat. 27°. He then turned north to the Kei Kaap
or Great Flat, through the Bull mouth Pass to the Great
Desert, finally reaching the Kuisip and Walfish Bay, on the
west coast. He next ascended the Kuisip 200 miles in the
interior, and finally returned to the Cape.
“The Wild Sports of Southern Africa, being the narrative
of an expedition from the Cape of Good Hope through the
territories of the chief Moselekatse to the tropic of Capricorn,
by Captain William Cornwallis Harris, was published in
1839. In 1842, appeared the interesting work by Robert
Moffat, the veteran missionary and father-in-law of Dr Living-
stone, descriptive of his labours and scenes in Southern Africa.
In 1845, the late Lieutenant Ruxton, since better known
for his bold explorations in North America, visited Walfish
Bay; and in 1849, Mr Francis Galton proceeded to the
same spot in company with Mr C.J. Andersson. From thence
he continued eastwards as far as long. 21°, without having
succeeded in reaching Lake Ngami, which was subsequently
more successfully performed by Mr Andersson, who not only
reached the Lake, but ascended the Teoghe River to the north
of it. Myr Galton travelled also as far as Odonga, in about
lat. 18°, south, not far from the Nourse River, which remains
still unexplored’. The Five Years of a Hunter's Life in
1 Messrs Stahn, Rath and Green have since penetrated to the north
of Damara Land, where they were attacked by the Ovampo and com-
1.| THE HISTORICAL ASPECT. DT
South Africa, by P. Gordon Cumming, and the work by
the Rev. J. Fleming on Southern Africa, have since been pub-
lished, as well as the explorations of the unfortunate Swedish
naturalist, Wahlberg.”
The services of missionaries in adding to the stock of geo-
graphical knowledge in reference to South Africa are not to be
overlooked. The early Portuguese missionaries were pioneers
both on the western and eastern coasts. Dr Shaw has already
mentioned some of the Protestant missionaries. To these we
may add the names of Schmidt, Vanderkemp, Kitcherer, the
two Albrechts, &c. It is to be presumed that the Boers have
in some cases been like pioneers, although sometimes connected
with very questionable motives and proceedings.
oie nts Dr Livingstone stands out prominently from
stone’s labours all these in several respects. A large portion of
and successes the blank on the map of South Africa is now
ie filled up by him, and greater results even may
oiierasingie come from this present expedition. He has used
Weraaal his talents and energies with reference both to
the wants of the civilized world, and of unci-
vilized Africa. No one can say but that he is nght in trying
to link Commerce, Science and Christianity into one common
bond for the achievement of these sublime objects.
Furthermore, he has steadily kept in view the great im-
portance of calling in the aid of exact science, and extending
and defining its bounds; especially in those branches of natural
philosophy which are the most readily applied to the practical
purposes of life. Men of science do thank and honour him
for remembering them and their work. The president and
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society of London have
been foremost both in acknowledging their obligations, and in
awarding their just encomiums and rewards. The Council
presented him with a chronometer watch for his discovery
pelled to retreat. The adventurous Andersson has, however, informed
Dr Shaw, that he intends at once to start, unaided and alone, north-
wards from Walwich Bay in search of the Nourse or Cunane River,
58 - APPENDIX, [ SECT.
of Lake Ngami. Dr Shaw, in the MSS. before referred to,
thus relates the manner in which this noble Society recognised
his subsequent labours:
“In awarding the Victoria gold Medal of the Royal Geogra-
phical Society to him, during his absence, the Earl of Ellesmere,
then President, eloquently dwelt upon ‘the scientific precision
with which the unarmed and unassisted English missionary
had left his mark on so many important stations of regions,
hitherto blank, and for which our associate, Mr Arrowsmith,
has sighed in vain.’ In presenting this medal to Dr Living-
stone at the special meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society, upon his arrival from Quillimane, the President,
Sir Roderick Murchison, in referring to the former achieve-
ments of the traveller, forcibly remarked, ‘ If for that wonderful
journey, Dr Livingstone was justly recompensed with the
highest distinction the Society could bestow, what must be
our own estimate of his prowess, now that he has re-traversed
the vast regions, which he first opened out to our knowledge?
Nay, more; that, after reaching his old starting-point at
Linyanti in the interior, he has followed the Zambesi, or
continuation of the Leeambye, to its mouths on the shores
of the Indian Ocean, passing through the eastern Portuguese
settlements to Quillimane,—thus completing the entire journey
across South Africa.’ May his future explorations be as suc-
cessful!”
Other missionaries may well keep Dr Livingstone’s ex-
ample in mind, and act likewise in cultivating science; of
course putting it in its place in reference to their own para-
mount engagements to strive for the salvation of souls.
Both African missionaries and explorers fall far short of
Dr Livingstone’s investigations as to the ExTENT of their dis-
coveries and explorations. Here and there one has penetrated
the interior, in some cases to die there, in others to take a
transient glance and return. Their labours have been confined
to researches fringing the coast. No one has before boldly
crossed the whole continent from ocean to ocean, and given
1.| THE HISTORICAL ASPECT. 59
the results of such investigations to the world. Even sup-
posing any one had done this, we may almost say that no
one else would return to encounter new fatigues and dangers,
and possibly certain death. Dr Livingstone himself settles
this interesting question in the following quotation from the
letter, addressed to Sir R. I. Murchison, dated 4th March,
1856, from Teté.
“It may be proper to refer to what has been done in for-
mer times in the way of crossing the continent, though my
inquiries lead to the belief that the honour belongs to our
country. The Portuguese invariably applaud any little ebul-
lition of patriotic feeling they observe in me, and I cannot but
participate in their feelings, when in the history of Angola
‘proud mention is made of the brave attempt of Captain José
da Roza, in 1678, to penetrate from Benguela to the Rio da
Senna (Zambesi). He was forced to retire after exploring a
large tract of new country. In 1800 the project was again
revived by the energetic Dr Lacerda, who recommended the
erection of a chain of forts along the banks of the Coanza,
whereby to effect a line of communication between the west
and east coasts. This shewed a mistaken idea of the source of
the Coanza, as it arises near Bihé, west of the western ridge.
But a communication having been made a few years afterwards
by some native traders with the Moluas (Balonda), the go-
vernment of Angola was gratified in 1815 by the arrival of
two persons (feirantes pretos), named Pedro Jaoa Baptista
and Antonio José, with letters from the governor of Mosam-
bique, ‘ proving thereby,’ as stated in the government docu-
ment of the day, ‘the possibility of so important a communi-
cation. Certain Arabs too, a few years before my visit to
Loanda, came from the opposite coast to Benguela, and with
a view to improve the event the government of Angola offered
one million of reis (about 142/.), and an honorary captaincy in
the Portuguese army, to any one who would accompany them
. back, but no one went. ‘The journey will now be performed
by Ben Habib. Pereira, and others, visited Cazembe, and
60 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Senhor Graca visited Matiamvo. If I knew that any one else
had done more, or that any Huropean had ever before crossed
the continent, I would certainly mention it’. I cannot find a
trace of a road from Caconda either.”
The historical results of these labours and triumphs are
necessarily future. Already some pages are added to authentic
history by what he has done. Half a century hence will pro-
bably revolutionize the records of the African continent, and
of the race of Ham, as a direct consequence of these labours.
It were idle to speculate as to what these results may be.
We have every reason to conclude that, sooner or later,
AFRICA WILL BE IMMEASURABLY RAISED IN THE SCALE OF THE
HUMAN FAMILY; GENERAL SCIENCE AND COMMERCE THEREIN
EXTENDED ; THE SLAVE-TRADE DESTROYED ; AND THE GLORIOUS
STANDARD OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE PLANTED WHERE HEATHEN-
ISM NOW REIGNS,
Section II1.—Dr Livingstone’s Labours, Explorations and
Discoveries considered as to their extent and results in their
SCIENTIFIC ASPECT.
** And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning
all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God
given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” Eccles. i, 13.
Tue subjects embraced in this section are so vast, that we
have to be mindful of suggesting principles rather than of giv-
ing detail. It is thought well to arrange these materials under
those heads which occur the most obviously in connexion with
this scientific aspect.
It must be remembered that the information here given
refers in particular to the new regions traversed by Dr Living-
stone, and not to Africa in general.
1 See Mr Macqueen’s Papers, Royal Geographical Society's Jowrnal, -
Vol, XXVI.
11. | GEOGRAPHY. 61
GEOGRAPHY.
‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” Psalm xxiv. r.
In this science henceforth the map of Africa is greatly
altered ; the immense sandy plains of some philosophers spe-
culating at home, in which rivers were asserted to be lost,
and no life, animate or inanimate, was declared to flourish,
are proved by our traveller to exist only in the fertile brains
of those worthies; while facts replace these plains with peopled
and productive regions. }
The following theories propounded by celebrated men, wiil,
when compared with Dr Livingstone’s revelations, prove the
undoubted superiority of fact over theory.
Buffon imagined that central Africa consists of great lon-
gitudinal chains of mountains.
Lacépede so far refined on this idea, as to lay down these
chains; and gravely to belt them with fiery girdles of sand.
Malte-Brun doubted these assertions.
Professor Ritter advanced a theory singularly in accord-
ance with the facts evolved by Sir R. I. Murchison, from
geological data, and proved by Dr Livingstone from actual
observation. We will now discuss these facts.
This is one of the most interesting features of
South Afri- Dr Livingstone’s discoveries. Sir R. I. Mur-
ca an oblong os ; : : d :
basin, with de- Clison’s great inductive feat in connexion with
pressed centre ¢his fact puts one in mind as an inductive effort,
and raised sides, > ra tee .
of Mr Adams’ celebrated @ priori demonstration
of the position of the planet Neptune. The for-
mer gentleman, in a presidential address to the members of
the Royal Geographical Society, in 1852, stated his convic-
tion that central South Africa is a depressed plateau, having
elevated ridges running down the eastern and western coasts ‘.
1 The following is the passage occurring in this address :—‘‘ Such 2s
South Africa is now, such have been her main features during countless
past ages, anterior to the creation of the human race. For the old rocks
62 APPENDIX. [szcr.
A geological map of Mr Bain, and some former discoveries
of Dr Livingstone and Mr Oswell, were probably the germ
of this idea. Dr Livingstone at this time was in central
Africa, far away from all communication with Iuropeans.
He by observation arrived independently at the same con-
clusion, and on reaching Linyanti, on his return from Loanda,
received Sir R. I. Murchison’s demonstration in the box
sent him by Mr Moffat. The notice of the fellowing facts
first led him to arrive at the same conclusion. In passing
northwards to Angola, the presence of large Cape heaths, rho-
dodendrons, Alpine roses, and especially the sudden descent
into the valley of the Quango, near Cassangé, led him to be-
lieve that they had been travelling on an elevated plateau,
This conviction was confirmed by observations made with a
thermometer and boiling water, whereby he took altitudes at
various points’. Moreover, he found that several rivers which
which form her outer fringe, unquestionably circled round an interior
marshy or lacustrine country, in which the Dicynodon flourished, at a
time when not a single animal was similar to any living thing which
now inhabits the surface of our globe. The present central and meridian
zone of waters, whether lakes or marshes, extending from Lake Chadd
to Lake Ngami, with hippopotami on their banks, are therefore but the
great modern residual geographical phenomena of those of a mesozoic
age. The differences, however, between the geological past of Africa
and her present state, are enormous. Since that primeval time, the
lands have been much elevated above the sea-level—eruptive rocks
piercing in parts through them; deep rents and defiles have been
suddenly formed in the subtending ridges through which some rivers
escape outwards.
“Travellers will eventually ascertain whether the basin-shaped
structure, which is here announced as having been the great feature of
the most ancient, as it is of the actual geography of South Africa (¢. e.
from primeval times to the present day), does, or does not, extend into
Northern Africa. Looking at that much broader portion of the conti-
nent, we have some reason to surmise that the higher mountains also
form, in a general sense, its flanks only.”—p. cxxiii. President's Address,
Royal Geographical Society, 1852.
1 Letter, dated Linyanti.
1. | GHOGRAPHY. 63
rise in this western ridge, run towards the centre of the conti-
nent. With reference to the opposite eastern ridge, in the
letter dated Hill Chanyuné, 25 Jan. 1856, he says, “ That the
same formation exists on the eastern side of the country appears
from the statements of Arabs, or Moors, from Zanzibar. They
assert that a large branch of the Leeambye flows from the
country of the Banyassa (Wun’yassa) to the south-west, aud
passes near the town of Cagembé; it is called Loapola.”
From the longitudes he estimates the distance from top to
top of these ridges to be about 600 geographical miles.
In the letter last quoted he further says, ‘‘The eastern ridge
seems to bend in to the west at the part I crossed, and then
travels away to the north-east, thereby approaching the east
coast. If the space between the ridges is generally not broader
than 600 miles, instead of calling the continent basin-shaped,
it may be proper to say that it has a furrow in the middle, with
an elevated ridge on each side, each about 150 or 200 miles
broad, the land sloping on both sides thence to the sea.” This
watery central plateau is elevated above the level of the sea,
at the same time that it is below the subtending eastern and
western ridges.
These facts at once account for the apparent impossibility
of rivers running in opposite directions. A stream which has
its origin in one of the ridges may run down inland; while
another main artery may be carrying off the water-shed of the
central plateau in a zigzag, and find an outlet through some
gorge into the ocean. For instance, the branch of the Leeam-
bye here mentioned runs south-west, while the Leeambye itself
flows due east, or south-east. The Coanzo and Quango flow
from west to east towards the centre of the continent ; while the
northern Lotembwa runs N.N.W. The one set runs from the
ridge to the plateau; the other from the plateau to the ocean.
Henceforth travellers in South Africa may at once probably
know where to look for the source of a river, by observing the
general direction of its current.
The country about Lake Dilolo seems to form a partition
64 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
in the basin ; hence the contrary direction of its drainage to the
east and west. It appears to be a correct conclusion that the
rivers rising in both ridges become collected into two great
drains in the central trough, the one flowing to the north, and
the other to the south; the northern drain finding its way out
by the Congo to the west, and the southern by the Zambesi
to the east.
This desert has been partly described in the
Lectures. See p. 2. It extends from Lake
Ngami to lat. 29° south ; and from 24° east long.
to the west coast. It contains no running water, and but few
wells. Great quantities of grass and tuberous roots grow on
it. Itis not by any means useless as a tract of country, sup-
porting much animal life; but it is dangerous from its great
want of water. Dr Livingstone, with Mrs Livingstone and
family, crossed it to Lake Ngami, in 1849, accompanied by
Messrs Oswell and Murray. Several large salt-pans are found
in it; and the mirage sometimes appears on its horizon with
The Kata-
HARI DESERT.
great perfection. It is covered with large quantities of grass,
and a great variety of creeping plants, together with bushes
and trees. The soil is soft light-coloured sand, nearly pure.
silica, with alluvial mould in the ancient river-beds. The
animals found in this desert are elephants, lions, leopards,
panthers, hyenas, goats, jackals, dogs, cats, antelopes, and the
rhinoceros.
This desert has been for ages a refuge for oppressed and
fugitive tribes. It is remarkable fer little rain, and yet abund-
ant vegetation.
According to Sir R. I. Murchison’s geological
Lakers and : at :
ree demonstrations, and to Dr Livingstone’s obser-
vations, central South Africa was, ages ago,
almost one vast lake. The lakes now remaining are residua
of this; while the great rivers, such as the Zambesi, are the
natural drains of the great central plateau, the bed of the
former lake system. Our traveller considers that the drain was
commenced when the fissures were made at the Victoria Falls,
uJ GEOGRAPHY. 65
and at those of Gonye: the immense salt-pans here and _ there
occurring being like residua. He says that when the Zambesi
flowed along its ancient bed, the whole country between the
lower portion of the Lekone, “and the ridge beyond Libebe
westwards; Lake Ngami and the Zouga southwards; and
eastwards beyond Nchokotsa, was one large fresh-water lake.
There is abundant evidence of the existence and extent of this
vast lake in the longitudes indicated, and stretching from 17°
to 21° south latitude. The whole of this space is paved with
a bed of tufa, more or less soft, according as it is covered with
soil, or left exposed to atmospheric influences. Wherever ant-
eaters make deep holes in this ancient bottom, fresh-water
shells are thrown out, identical with those now existing, in the
Lake Ngamiand the Zambesi. The Barotse valley was another
lake of a similar nature, and one existed beyond Masiko, and
a fourth near the Orange River. The whole of these lakes
were let out by means of cracks or fissures made in the subtend-
ing sides, by the upheaval of the country. The fissure made
at the Victoria Falls let out the water of this great valley, and
left a small patch in what was probably its deepest portion,
and is now called Lake Ngami. ‘The Falls of Gonye furnished
an outlet to the lake of the Barotse valley, and so of the other
great lakes of remote times. The Congo also finds its way to
the sea through a narrow fissure, and so does the Orange River
in the west ; while other rents made in the eastern ridge, as the
Victoria Falls and those to the east of Tanganyenka, allowed
the central waters to drain eastward. All the African lakes
hitherto discovered are shallow, in consequence of being the
mere residua of very much larger ancient bodies of water.”
The form which the rivers have taken in the great valley
imparts the idea of a lake slowly drained out; their beds and
sides helping to the same conclusion.
The lakes laid down on the maps are as follows: Taganyika,
in the north; Maravi, in the east; Ruena, Lukutu, and Shuia, in
the centre; Dilolo towards the west, and Negami in the south-
west. These latter two only have been visited by Europeans.
66 APPENDIX, [ SECT.
This lake was discovered by Livingstone,
Laxe Neamr. Oswell and Murray, in August, 1849. Its di-
rection, by compass, is N.N.E. by S.S.W. It
is from 75 to 100 miles round, and, like the other African
lakes, shallow. Its waters are stagnant; fresh when full, but
brackish when low, and are the southern end of the great lake
and river system which we have just been considering. Our
traveller’s object in looking for this lake was to visit Sebituane ;
Sechele suggested the journey ; its existence has been known
to the natives for half a century. The Bayeige dwell on its
banks, which are annually inundated; the whole lake is ele-
vated 2000 feet above the level of the sea. For the pronun-
ciation of its name, see Appendix, Sect. III. p. 121.
This small lake, 7 or 8 miles long, and 4
Lake Ditoto. broad, is situated in the country of Katema, and
was visited by Dr Livingstone in his journeys to
and from Loanda. Its chief point of attraction is that of its
being a water-shed, dividing its waters between the Atlantic
and Indian oceans... A portion flows down the Kasai, Zaire,
or Congo, to the west, and another down the Leeba, into the
Zambesi, to the east. The Lotembwa, a river a mile wide,
which our traveller crossed near to this lake, also flows in two
opposite directions !. _)
rhe wee Respecting the rivers, these demand far more
of Centra discussion than can possibly be given here. From
SoutH AFRI- hearing reports among the natives at Ngami,
mf Dr Livingstone truly concluded that there must
be an immense river system to the north of his then position.
The higher he got north, the more he became convinced of this,
both by observation and report. Many of these rivers rise
both in the eastern and western ridges. This latter he says
gives rise to a remarkable number of rivers ; “Thus, the Quango
on the north ; the Coanza on the west ; the Langebongo, which
the latest information identifies with the Loeti, and the numer-
ous streams which unite and form the Chobé, on its south-
1 The letter dated Linyanti.
11. | GHOGRAPHY. 67
east; all the feeders of the Kasai and that river itself on the
east ; and probably also the Embara or river of Libébé on the
south.”
We have before seen with what difficulty he got to Linyanti,
and the immense river and marsh system which he found there ;
looking hence north—and an enormous tract of country be-
tween Linyantiand the equator is unexplored—he says, “‘ View-
ing the basin from this (Linyanti) northward, we behold an
immense flat, intersected by rivers in almost every direction,
and these are not the South-African mud, sand, or stone rivers
either, but deep never-failing streams, fit to form invaluable
bulwarks against enemies who can neither swim nor manage
canoes. They have also numerous departing and re-entering
branches, with lagoons and marshes adjacent, so that it is
scarcely possible to travel along their banks without the as-
sistance of canoes'.”
These valley-rivers have generally two beds, one of low
water, and another of inundation. Some of the great southern
rivers have their origin in the great flooded plains of the central
country.
We can here only record the names of the chief rivers re-
ferred to by Dr Livingstone, confining all attempt at descrip-
tion to one—the Zambesi. Beginning in the west, these rivers
are, the Coanza, the Congo, the Kasai, the Lotembwa, the
Chobe, the Kafué, the Longwa, and the Shire.
ee This may be called a river-system. The main
ZaMBESI and stream is a noble river flowing—no one knows
zt TRIBUTA~ whence—through central South Africa. One of
the canoe-songs common among the natives on
the river is—
‘““The Leeambye,—nobody knows
Whence it comes or whither it goes.”
In the far interior it is called the Leeambye. This name and that
of Zambesi, or Zambesa, mean “ THE River.” An examination
1 Letter dated Linyanti.
13
68 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
of the map will shew that it has many tributaries. Our tra-
veller justly places his hopes on this river becoming the great
highway for the civilization and evangelization of central
Africa, because it is the only known continuous watercourse.
The natives say that there is water communication from Ma-
tiamvo down to Linyanti.
This river is remarkable for the amount of animal life in
and upon its waters; which rise 20 feet high in inundations,
and flood 20 miles of adjacent land. In some places it is
3 miles wide, having many islands. A large number of tribes
reside on its banks. The chief of these are, the Batoka, Mate-
bele, Makololo, Barotse, and Balonda’. Its general flow is
3? miles an hour; running from north to south in the centre of
the continent, and then turning to the east. Its banks abound
with beautiful verdure, large forests, elephants, antelopes, and
buffaloes: and its waters with reptiles, water-fowl, fishes, &c.
= These are the only serious impediment to
ICTORIA ere ; 21
FALLS. navigation. There is a spirited account, and
view, given of them in the book of Travels.
Suffice it here to say, that they are about 1000 miles inland,
and about 1000 yards across. They are formed by the river
rushing into an immense fissure in its bed, about 80 feet wide,
the waters falling down 100 feet, and then being compressed
into a space of 15 or 20 yards: the opposite banks being of
equal height. Our traveller is the first European who has ever
seen them, and pronounces them to be the sublimest sight which
he has seen in Africa. One main object of the present expedi-
tion is to survey this noble river.
We have seen that the surplus waters are
South AFRI- 7 : 5 :
ca gradually carried off in the partial emptying of the central
losing its wa- basin, which is advantageous. But in the south,
ell especially about the Kalahari desert, such desic-
cation has become so serious as to make deserts of lands
1 For an account of these tribes, see Sect. ITT. pp. 92, 96, 97, 99.
u. | GEOGRAPHY. 69
formerly fertile. Inthe Bechuana country all the rivers which
have a westerly course are dry, or drying up.
He found the empty bed of a large river which anciently
flowed from north to south: it was in this that he discovered
the fossils spoken of at p. 15, Lecture 1. The farther south
you go, the more this drying up seems to take place.
The parched Kuruman district appears formerly to have
been as well watered as the neighbourhood of Lake Ngami is
now, and the latter as well as that of Linyanti. The Mokoko,
now dry, was a running stream in the memory of living wit-
nesses. Notwithstanding, Dr Livingstone says that we may
hope more for the greatness of central South Africa than for
that of central Australia.
We have already alluded to the geological, or
GENERAL AS- . ;
pect of the geographical fact, that ridges of from 150 to 200
NEWLY-DIsco- miles in width, run down on each side, with a
VERED COUN- : :
nied great flat in the middle. These ridges are fringed
with forests of various kinds. The banks of the
Zambesi are occasionally loaded with enormous timber-trees,
and have sometimes a park-like appearance. These are the
chief variations of the Makololo country. Then there exist
great valleys, such as the Barotse. Farther west occur some
flooded plains of from 15 to 20 miles in extent. The Balonda
country is a flat gloomy forest prairie, unhealthy, and difficult
to cross. There are large ant-hills in various parts: also arti-
ficial mounds raised by the natives for refuge in times of inun-
dation.
What with “wait-a-bit” thorns, grass 6 to 8 feet high,
jungle and marsh in some districts, our traveller had enough to
do to make any onward progress at all. Yet in the midst of
this toilsome pilgrimage, so expressive of the journey of human
life, with its pains, penalties, vicissitudes and joys, some of the
scenes witnessed—especially on the banks of the Zambesi—
were of such surpassing beauty, and so perfect in repose, that
he was entranced with the glorious vision ; such an one as would
13—2
70 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
delight angels, and make mortals for the moment forget the sin,
sorrow, and shame of the first Adam’s fall, everywhere so visible
in this lower world a magnificent wreck of former grandeur!
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY.
“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep.”—Gen. 1. 2.
The references to these sciences in the Book of T’ravels, are
numerous and valuable. At page 569, is “an ideal section
across south central Africa, intended to shew the elevated
valley form of the continent.” An examination of this section
will much help to explain what is said about the ridges and
river-system in the foregoing paragraphs.
It appears that both coasts consist of calcareous tufa; and
the western ridge of mica schist and sandstone. The great
central plateau is formed of tufa, trap, and radiated zeolite.
White basaltic rocks, mica schist, granite and trap make up
the eastern ridge; coal in sandstone, and igneous rocks inter-
vening between them and the calcareous tufa bordering on the
sea.
The general direction of the ranges of hills on the eastern
and western ridges appear to be parallel to the major axis of
the continent: the dip of the strata down towards the centre
of the country shewing that Africa in its formation was pressed
up more energetically at the sides than at the centre’.
Our traveller suggests that the fissures which have drained
the great central plateau are possibly geologically recent, be-
cause the one at the Victoria Falls has only about 3 feet worn
off the edge subjected to the wear of the water; and that
they may be progressive in case the gradual desiccation of the
Bechuana country shews the slow elevation of the ridges”.
He found, near the Chiponga, a forest of silicified trees ;
some 22 inches in diameter; also near the Zambesi, towards
1 Letter dated Linyanti. ? Letter dated Hill Chanyuné.
11. | GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 71
Teté, other fossil trees: one of these being 4 feet 8 inches in
diameter. The former were lying towards the river, the latter
in various directions. Silicified palms also exist on both sides
of the continent.
Our traveller says that coal possibly exists
near the rocks of Pungo Andongo, in Angola,
since there are geological indications of its presence.
He could find no traces of it throughout the centre of the
country; which he much regretted.
On the eastern coast he positively found it, as is shewn
by the following quotation from the letter, dated Quili-
mane, East Africa, 23rd May, 1856, addressed to Sir R. I.
Murchison: ‘‘ The disturbances effeeted by the eruptive rocks
in the grey sandstone have brought many seams of coal to the
COAL.
surface. There are no fewer than nine of these in the country
adjacent to Teté, and I came upon two before reaching that
point. One seam in the rivulet Muatize is 58 inches in dia-
meter; another is exposed in the Morongoze, which, as well
as the Muatize, falls into the Revubue, and that joins the
Zambesi from the north about two miles below Teté. The
Reyubue is navigable for canoes during the whole year, and
but for a small rapid in it, near the points of junction with
these rivulets, canoes might be loaded at the seams them-
selves.”
This invaluabie mineral is found and exten-
sively worked in Angola, both by the natives
and Portuguese. The Banyeti, a people dwelling on the
Islands of the Leeambye, make it into rude implements. This
is also the case with the people of Shinte. Such an important
IRON.
gift of nature, occurring in circumstances so advantageous,
argues much for the success, with God’s blessing, of the means
used for the utilizing and evangelizing of central Africa. Near
to the river Moamba he found a solution of it running from
several bogs; and near the Funze Hills he saw some strongly
magnetic rounded pieces of iron ore. The iron of eastern
Africa is particularly exeellent, and in great abundance. ‘“ In
72 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
some places it is obtained from what is called the specular
iron ore, and also from black oxide. The latter has been well
roasted in the operations of nature, and contains a large pro-
portion of the metal. It occurs generally in tears or rounded
lumps, and is but slightly magnetic. When found in the beds
of rivers, the natives know of its existence by the quantity of
oxide on the surface, and they find no difficulty in digging it
with pointed sticks. They consider English iron as ‘rotten;
and I have seen, when a javelin of their own iron lighted on
the cranium of a bippopotamus, it curled up like the proboscis
of a butterfly, and the owner would prepare it for future use
by straightening it co/d with two stones. I brought home
some of the hoes which Sekeletu gave me to purchase a canoe,
also some others obtained in Kilimane, and they have been
found of such good quality that a friend of mine in Birming-
ham has made an Enfield rifle of them*.”
This precious metal is found certainly on the
eastern side of the continent, and possibly on the
western side, but not in the centre. It is unknown to the
interior natives. The following quotation from the letter
last mentioned gives a complete account of the matter:
‘““ If we consider Tete as occupying a somewhat central posi-
tion in the coal-field, and extend the leg of the compasses
about 33°, the semicircle which may then be described from
north-east round by west to south-east nearly touches or in-
eludes all the district as yet known to yield the precious
metal. We have five weli-known gold-washings from north-
east to north-west. There is Abutua, not now known, but it
must have been in the west or south-west, probably on the
flank of the eastern ridge. Then the country of the Bazizula,
or Mashona, on the south, and Manica on the south-east. The
rivers Mazoe, Luia and Luenya in the south, and several
rivulets in the north, bring gold into the coal-field with their
sands; but from much trituration it is generally in such minute
scales as would render amalgamation with mercury necessary
GOLD.
‘ Travels, pp. 650, 651.
11. | GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 73
to give it weight in the sand, and render the washing pro-
fitable. The metal in some parts in the north is found in red
clay-shale, which is soft enough to allow the women to pound
it in wooden mortars previous to washing. At Mashinga it
occurs in white quartz. Some of the specimens of gold which
I have seen from Manica and the country of Bazizula (Mosu-
surus!) were as large as grains of wheat, and those from rivers
nearer Teté were extremely minute dust only. I was thus
‘led to conclude that the latter was affected by transport, and
the former shewed the true gold-field as indicated by the
semicircle. Was the eastern ridge the source of the gold,
seeing it is now found not far from its eastern flank ?
“We have then at present a coal-field surrounded by gold,
with abundance of wood, water and provisions—a combina-
tion of advantages met with neither in Australia nor California.
In former times the Portuguese traders went to the washings
accompanied by great numbers of slaves, and continued there
until their goods were expended in purchasing food for the
washers. The chief in whose lands they laboured expected a
small present—one pound’s worth of cloth perhaps—for the
privilege. But the goods spent in purchasing food from the
tribe was also considered advantageous for the general good,
and all were eager for these visits. It is so now in some
quarters, but the witchery of slave-trading led to the with-
drawal of industry from gold-washing and every other source
of wealth; and from 130 or 140 lbs. weight annually, the pro-
duce has dwindled down to 8 or 10|bs. only. This comes
from independent natives, who wash at their own convenience,
and for their own profit.
“A curious superstition tends to diminish the quantity
which might be realised. No native will dig deeper than his
chin, from a dread of the earth falling in and killing him; and
on finding a piece of gold it is buried again, from an idea that
without this ‘seed’ the washing would ever afterwards prove
unproductive. I could not for some time credit this in people
who know right well the value of the metal; but it is univer-
74 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
sally asserted by the Portuguese, who are intimately acquainted
with their language and modes of thought. It may have been
the sly invention of some rogue among them, who wished to
baulk the chiefs of their perquisites, for in more remote times
these pieces were all claimed by them.”
Silver is said formerly to have been found on the Zambesi,
but not so now. Copper is unknown. Malachite is worked
by the people of Casembe.
METEOROLOGY.
‘© While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and
heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”—
Gen. Vill. 22.
Most persons have accurate general ideas about African
seasons and atmospheric phenomena, while but few know
anything of the minuter details of this science when applied to -
this continent.
The climate from Cape Colony up to 24°
north latitude and as far as 24° east longitude
is similar. This is a region which has been losing its water ;
and hence its climate accords with this fact.
When a strong south wind blows in the south, and during
winter, farther north, the sky has a murky aspect as though
huge forests or prairies were being burnt, and their smoke
were ascending high into the air. Some travellers account for
this appearance by supposing it to be caused by the actual
burning of grass, or by the sand of the Kalahari desert, and
others, by upper strata of cold air.
The climate of the country about the Kalahari desert is
favourable to the cure of pulmonary diseases; also that of the
ridges is peculiarly fitted for restoring debilitated Kuropeans
suffering from African fever or heat.
The air of Londa is generally moist, and depressing ; hence
it is disliked by the Makalolo and Barotse, who sometimes are
decimated by fever.
CLIMATE.
1] METEOROLOGY. 75
The atmosphere of Angola is so moist, that even Dr Living-
stone’s native attendants were seriously affected thereby. He
himself was obliged to crawl along in misery, suffering from
vertigo, and arriving at Loanda a living skeleton. He has
recorded twenty-seven cases of fever in his book; but, in
answer to a question put, said that he has had double or
treble that number of attacks; yet believing that his constitu-
tion is now as good as ever.
These much influence the climate. In spring,
the north wind prevails during the day; the
wind rarely blows from the east. A hot electric current sweeps
over the Kalahari desert, from north to south, at the end of
winter. In connexion with this wind, our traveller found that
the Bechuanas knew of the electric spark ages before it was
produced by Dr Franklin. The wind seldom blows from north
to south ; that from the north is hot, and from the south cold.
In Angola the west wind almost invariably brings fever, while
that from the east is very healthy; the north wind in Londa
has a blighting effect on vegetation; that from the north-east
and east brings continuous rain in the south; this is also the
effect of that from the north in Londa and Angola.
It is well known that extensive tracts of
country lying between Cape Colony and the
Zambesi are visited by this terrible scourge; such as the
Bechuana country, and Namaqua land. We have already
seen that immense territories farther north. are ratber an un-
pleasant reverse. The Bakwains and Bushmen suffer some-
times terribly for want of water.
Most of the districts watered by the Zam-
besi are subject to more or less continuous and
WINDS.
DROUGHT.
RAIN,
drenching rain. There is so much in Londa, that our traveller's
tent, instruments, and we may say person, were almost con-
stantly wet. The cloudy state of the sky prevented him from
taking many observations. The rains are so heavy near
Lake Dilolo as to destroy the very foot-paths. There are
76 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
dews also, night and morning, such as are not seen in the
south. The rains are warm on the Zambesi, farther east.
Showers have been seen, and thunder heard, in South Africa,
without clouds. |
The following extract gives an interesting account of the
theory of African rains: “The characteristics of the rainy
season in this wonderfully humid region (Londa), may account
in some measure for the periodical floods of the Zambesi, and
perhaps the Nile. The rains seem to follow the course of the
sun, for they fall in October and November, when the sun
passes over this zone on his way south. On reaching the
tropic of Capricorn in December, it is dry; and December and
January are the months in which injurious droughts are most
dreaded near that tropic (from Kolobeng to Linyanti). As he
returns again to the north, in February, March, and April,
we have the great rains of the year; and the plains, which in
October and November were well moistened, and imbibed
rain like sponges, now become supersaturated, and pour forth
those floods of clear water which inundate the banks of the
Zambesi. Somewhat the same phenomenon probably causes
the periodical inundations of the Nile. The two rivers rise in
the same region; but there is a difference in the period of
flood, possibly from their being on opposite sides of the
equator. The waters of the Nile are said to become turbid in
June; and the flood attains its greatest height in August, or
the period when we may suppose the supersaturation to occur.
The subject is worthy the investigation of those who may
examine the region between the equator and 10° south; for
the Nile does not shew much increase when the sun is at its
furthest point north, or tropic of Cancer, but at the time of its
returning to the equator, exactly as in the other case when he
is on Capricorn, and the Zambesi is affected. ...... The above
is from my own observations, together with information derived
from the Portuguese in the interior of Angola; and I may add
that the result of many years’ observation by Messrs Gabriel
m1. | METEOROLOGY. 77
and Brand at Loanda, on the west coast, is in accordance
therewith. It rains there between the Ist and 30th of No-
vember, but January and December are usually both warm
and dry. The heavier rains commence about the Ist of Feb-
ruary, and Jast until the 15th of May. Then no rain falls
between the 20th of May and the Ist of November. The rain
averages from 12 to 15 inches per annum?.” Our traveller
concludes that far more rain per annum falls in Londa than on
the coast.
The winter ends in Londa in August. It is
very cold morning and night, and hot during the
day. The following statement made by our traveller relative
to the varying severity of South African winters may surprise
many: “ All the interior of South Africa has a distinct winter
of cold, varying in intensity with the latitudes. In the central
parts of the Cape colony, the cold in the winter is often severe,
and the ground is covered with snow. At Kuruman snow
seldom falls, but the frost is keen. There is frost even as far
as the Chobe, and a partial winter in the Barotse valley; but
beyond the Orange River we never have cold and damp com-
SEASONS.
bined. Indeed a shower of rain seldom or never falls during
winter, and hence the healthiness of the Bechuana climate.
From the Barotse valley northwards, it is questionable if it
ever freezes; but during the prevalence of the south wind, the
thermometer sinks as low as 42°, and conveys the impression
of bitter cold*.”
It need scarcely be said that the summer in many parts
is intensely hot, especially in the Bechuana country. In the
Makololo and Balonda regions it is close and steamy; but less
oppressive on account of clouds. The thunder and lightning
are sometimes awful. Meteors and aerolites are occasionally
seen. The natives shelter themselves in some parts with pa-
rasols, made of black ostrich feathers; this the Matebele do
with their shields.
1 Travels, p. 463. 2 Ibid. p. 463.
78 APPENDIX. | [ SECT.
Botany.
‘‘ Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit
tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the
earth: and it was so.” Gen. i. II.
In connexion with this science we can only mention the
new, or greatly-important species of plants brought to light by
Dr Livingstone in Africa. For the botanist, and the naturalist
in general, there is a rich harvest in the newly-explored re-
gions.
This is indigenous in Africa. It has been
raised in the Portuguese colonies for many years
for the purpose of yielding sugar. In the interior regions just
opened by our traveller it is growing both wild and under
cultivation. The only use at present made of it by the natives
of these parts is for chewing. Both the Makololo and Balonda
use it largely in this way. The whole district watered by the
Zamibesi is suited to its growth.
2
Sugar-cane.
Cotton and sugar are the two mainstays of
American slavery, yet both flourish around the
native homes of those very slaves transported across the Atlan-
tic to feed that wicked traffic. Cotton not alone grows in the
Portuguese possessions on both sides of the continent, but also
all along the course of the Zambesi. Two species of it are
found on the banks of the Zouga and of Lake Ngami. The
Barotse valley, and other immense flats of alluvial soil, are
adapted for its cultivation. The cotton-tree is perennial in
Angola. The people generally spin cotton-yarn with a spindle
and distaff, after the manner of the ancient Egyptians.
Coffee, This is much prized by the Makololo. Im-
mense tracts of central South-Africa are suited for
its culture. It is not indigenous to Africa, but grows on both
coasts, having been originally planted by the Jesuit mis-
slonaries.
Cotton.
u.] BOTANY. 79
Dr Livingstone believes this to be a fibrous
plant of great value, and that it was before
entirely unknown to botanists. It grows about Teté, and in
large quantities in the country of the Maravi. He submitted
some specimens of it to Messrs Pye, Brothers, of London,
who pronounce it to be suitable as a substitute for flax, in
comparison with which it is stronger and of finer fibre.
There is a drawing ofthis plant at p. 646, Travels. The natives
make a thread of it, which is as strong as catgut. Possibly
our manufacturers will find it adapted for sail-cloth, &c.
This is another new plant, being a species of
aloe of fibrous tissue, found by our traveller in
the same districts as the Buaze. It was suggested to him by
the Portuguese as being fitted for the manufacture of paper.
He has met with several of great value. The
Nux Vomica, producing strychnia, flourishes
abundantly on the Leeambye. The Cinchona bark
grows in large quantities on the eastern coast. Senna is there
growing in whole forests, and possibly, like that of Egypt.
Another new plant, the Kumbanzo, a valuable remedy in cases
of fever, is found on the same coast. At page 648, Travels,
is a drawing of this latter plant. Also at page 649 there is a
long list of useful African medicinal and other plants, worthy
of attention from those who are interested in such studies.
Manioc, or cassava, is the staple food of some central Afri-
can tribes, just as rice is among Asiatics, and wheat among
Kuropeans. Wild indigo abounds over vast tracts of Africa.
Potatoes are cultivated both by the Bushmen and by the Ma-
ravi. Fruits, flowers, and forest-trees still remain to be clas-
sified and described.
These new districts, like all other parts of the creation of
God, shew forth His glory, forethought and goodness in pro-
viding so bountifully for all his creatures.
Budze.
Congé.
Medicinal
plants.
80 APPENDIX. eee 2
ZOoLoGy.
‘For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hils.”—Psalm 1. 1o.
In connexion with this science we can only speak of the
new species or varieties of animals discovered by Dr Living-
stone.
+ maou The leche was found by Dr Livingstone and
Nakong, Po- his companions at Lake Ngami. It is a water-
ku, and Thian- antelope, of a light-brownish tallow colour 1,
anes In the letter, dated Teté, he thus describes
the others: ‘‘In the animal kingdom there are three antelopes
which, I believe, have been hitherto unknown, all of which
abound in the great valley, but nowhere else. One is specially
adapted for treading on mud and marshy spots, by great
length from point of toe to the little hoofs above the fetlock.
It has a heavy gait, looks paunchy, and hides itself all but the
nose in water.” The native name of the first being Nakong
or Setutunka. .
“‘ Another little antelope abounds in great numbers near
Seshéke; its cry of alarm is like that of the domestic fowl.
It is called Thianyané. The third is named Poku, and it
abounds in prodigious numbers above the Barotse. It is ex-
actly like the Leché which was discovered when we went first
to Lake Ngami, but considerably smaller in every way, and
of a redder colour.”
It is scarcely necessary to mention elephants, lions, buf-
faloes, zebras, &c. as being constantly met with by him.
These are described in most books on Zoology. We may
notice a few interesting points brought out by our traveller in
connexion with this subject, which may not be so generally
known.
1 For a description and drawing of this animal, see Travels,
Pp. 79, 7!-
IL. | SOME OTHER NATURAL SCIENCES. 81
The immense quantities of game in some parts almost
baffle description; especially on the banks of the Zambesi,
between Linyanti and Teté.
Our traveller observed that the farther he went north, the
smaller the large game, such as elephants, become. Males in
the south being 12 feet high at the withers, and those above
20° north latitude being 9 feet’.
He was much struck with the instinct shewn by different
wild animals in adapting themselves to new circumstances of
security or danger, evincing an intelligence almost amounting
to the cool calculations of reason. For instance, they soon
found out the difference between the shorter range of bow-
shot and the longer range of gun-shot, after guns had been a
little while introduced.
SoME OTHER NATURAL SCIENCES.
** For every creature of God is good.”—1r Tim. iv. 4.
Topics are here enlarged on according to their bearing
on Dr Livingstone’s discoveries, and not with respect to their
Own intrinsic merits.
hares In connexion with this sublime science our
traveller has rendered invaluable services by de-
termining the latitudes and longitudes of ninety places. These
are all given in the Table at pp. 684—687, Travels. He
determines the altitudes of fifteen places in the same Table.
This is a hint which may well be taken by missionaries
and others opening up little known or unexplored regions.
eet day. This science is particularized simply to intro-
The duce this curious insect, of which a brief account
aie must be given.
There are drawings of it on the title-page, and at p. 571,
as well as a description at pp. 81, 82, Travels. Its existence is
1 Thid. pp. 564, 5.
82 APPENDIX. [szor.
to us a novelty, and to Africa a scourge. This fly is so serious
a pest, that a waggon or a company of horsemen is liable to
be brought to a standstill by its ravages. It is not much
larger than the common house-fly, yet its bite is certain death
to the horse, ox, or dog.
Our traveller lost forty-three oxen during one journey
from its ravages; on another occasion, this little tyrant turned
him back ; and he was frequently obliged to travel by night in
order to escape its annoyance. The reason why he travelled
so far north from Linyanti before he turned to the west was as
much to avoid the tsetse as the slave-dealer’s path.
It does not hurt man, game of most kinds, sucking calves,
or the mule and ass. An animal wastes away after its bite,
and perishes from extreme exhaustion. Horses are especially
liable to injury. A person eating the flesh of cattle affected
by it, is subject to carbuncle; even boiling does not destroy
the virus in the flesh.
This insect-plague spreads over nearly seven degrees of
latitude. Linyanti and its neighbourhood are in the very cen-
tre of its habitat. Dr Livingstone concludes that large game,
especially elephants, take it intoa district. The following facts
make him think so. It now exists on the Zambesi, in some
parts to such an extent, that the people can keep no domestic
animals except goats; whereas the same districts teemed with
cattle in the palmy days of the Batoka tribes. Again, Londa
is free both from large game and tsetse; yet the people have
no cattle. Hence he concludes that this insect migrates with
the larger game.
Several other natural sciences are enriched by our traveller’s
labours; but in these, as in most others, he is as yet only the
acknowledged pioneer.
He saw birds in immense numbers and manictiel finding
several new kinds on the Chobe and Leeambye.
The quantities of fishes, reptiles, insects, &c. noticed,
and partially described, are bewildering. Yet all are made
1. |. UNITY OF OUR RACE. 83
for use, enjoyment, and for setting forth of the power,
goodness, and mercy of God.
Section II].—Dr Livingstone’s labours, explorations, and dis-
coveries considered as to their extent and results in their
ETHNOLOGICAL ASPECT.
‘‘ All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord :
and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the
kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.” —
Psalm*xxii. 27, 28.
The unity of the Human Race further proved by Dr Living-
stone's researches in South Africa.
‘We all are one man’s sons.’’—Gen. xlii. 11.
The physical history of our race is both an interesting and
profitable study. In reference to the great controversies about
the common origin of mankind we cannot do better than im-
plicitly believe the Mosaic account of it, deriving us all from
Adam and Eve. Differences in colour, speech, national cha-
racteristics, religious belief, moral, social and intellectual con-
dition, may stagger some about the unity of the race; but be
it remembered that these diversities are mostly referable to
eaternal circumstances. There remains one fact propounded
in Scripture, and observable in human expe-
Aninwardor ., SL hs j : :
spiritual unity Tlence, which incontrovertibly proves this unity.
ofmankindde- Qyteard differences undoubtedly exist, for which
monstrable. . F ; : . :
climate, mode of life, geographical situation, social
status, and national bias amply account ; but notwithstanding
there is an inward unity of thought, passion, prejudice, sym-
pathy and desire. The same pleasures, anxieties, crimes, vir-
tues, vices, noble or mean actions and influences, affect alike in
many instances the soul of the most cultivated philosopher and
of the most uncivilized savage. Different species would not
14
84 APPENDIX. [SECT.
have the same attributes. Physiology argues for such unity ;
more eloquently still do moral, psychological and theological
science. Human nature, the human heart, the human soul, are
in every place and at all times in unison. The marks of the
fall, like springs of action, love, hate, and a common convic-
tion and hope of immortality hereafter,—held with more or less
clear assurance,—every where animate mankind. Read history,
hear tradition, ponder revelation, compare man with man,
woman with woman, child with child; and travel the world
over in order to arrive at conclusions from an induction of
facts, and you must perceive this inward unity. Establish
this, and the outward must follow, for the body is only the
earth-made dwelling-place of the heaven-born soul. Dr Living-
stone’s books add to the weight of these conclusions; especially
since he confirms them, not by direct argument, but by un-
designed coincidence. Similar motives sway the untutored
African in connexion with public and private virtues and vices
as among ourselves. Many of their foibles are a mere reflex
of ours; while some individuals among them display a gran-
deur of character difficult for ws to surpass. Considering
Sekeletu’s opportunities and circumstances, where can be found
a nobler. man ?
Respecting the question of this unity as seen
The outward : : :
or corporeal CUtwardly or materially, Dr Pritchard satisfac-
unity of man- torily states: “I have endeavoured to shew,
Ed. that no remarkable instance of variety in orga-
nization exists among human races to which a parallel may
not be found in many of the inferior tribes; and, in the second
place, that all human races coincide in regard to many par-
ticulars, in which tribes of animals, when specifically distinct,
are always found to differ1.”
He further shews this truth by the fact that the physical
characters of the human species in Africa are not unchange-
1 Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, Vol. 1. p. 1.
111. | UNITY OF OUR RACE. 85
able, but variable. The negro races are not separated from
others by one uniform line of demarcation. They have cha-
racteristics in common with all others; multitudes of negroes
are like Europeans, or Asiatics, in all respects except hair,
colour, form, or some other difference. Hence the negroes do
not stand alone as a distinct species, for one so distinct cannot
pass into another equally so by insensible degrees. Varieties
are more of the individual than of the race.
Dr Pritchard shews that physical deviations have already
taken place
1. Among the Arabs who emigrated into Africa twelve
centuries ago.
2. Inthe colour especially, of the Lybian or Atlantic race.
3. In the fact that other varieties of mankind have been
transmuted into negroes: such as the Barabra of the Nile:
some black Jews in Congo, and the Albinoes, or white negroes.
4, Inthe Kafirs and negroes differmg much in many re-
spects!.
The affinities in language everywhere observable, afford
another strong argument for this unity of the human race.
Having seen that the Africans are really “bone of our
bone, and flesh of our flesh ;’ the way is hence cleared for the
argument that we are bound, as brothers, to act for their tem-
poral and spiritual good.
The A eicat The equator seems to be the chief boundary-
people divided line of this continent in many respects. Two of
ed great these divisions of mankind are to the north of
; this line, and two to the south. Those to the
north are commonly spoken of as Mahommedans and Negroes ;
and those to the south as Kajirs and Negroes. We confine
our attention to the last two.
Dr Pritchard says that the distinguishing peculiarities of
the African nations: may be summed up under four heads, viz.
1 Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, Vol. 11. p. 342—
343+
14—2
86 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
the characters of complexion, of hair, features and figure}.
The truest characteristics of the negro, are blackness of colour,
woolly hair, and, according to Dr Livingstone, features like
the pictures and monuments of the ancient Egyptians, or the
features of the modern Copts. It will presently be seen that
some of the races brought to our notice by him, are, according
to this standard, true negroes.
The tribes south of the Equator ; and especially those recently
brought to light by Dr Livingstone.
‘‘Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his
own way ?”—Prov. xx. 24.
We have just seen that the native inhabitants of Southern
Africa are usually ranged under the two great divisions of |
Kafirs and Negroes. The former of these terms in reality
embraces the great Bechuana family of tribes; to which
family the name of its most energetic and distinguished branch
—the Kafir—is thus commonly applied. The latter comprises
the other races, who approach, perhaps, more nearly in several
respects to the true negro type. We will now discuss the
members of these two great branches in order.
The Bechu- These are the people with whom our traveller
ana family of has chiefly had intercourse. The Kafir tribe is
te! a branch of it. These tribes under various names
are scattered from the eastern to the western coasts; and from
Cape Colony in the south, even as far as the limits of the
Makololo dominions in the north.
The Makololo generalize this great family of African races
into three divisions, viz.:
Ist, The Matebele, or Makonkobi—the Caffre family liv-
ing on the eastern side of the country; 2nd, The Bakoni, or
Basuto; and 3rd, The Bakalahari, or Bechuanas, living in the
central parts, which includes all those tribes living in or ad-
jacent to the great Kalahari Desert”.”
1 Jbid. Vol. 1. pp. 341. 2 Travels, pp. 200—201.
111. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 87
The Kafir divisions of this family are enumerated under
the head “ Kafir ;” the other two are stated by Dr Living-
stone as follows:
“2nd. The Bakoni and Basuto division contains in the
south all those tribes which acknowledge Moshesh as their
paramount chief; among them we find the Batau, the Baputi,
Makolokue, &c., and some mountaineers on the range Maluti,
who are believed, by those who have carefully sifted the evi-
dence, to have been at one time guilty of cannibalism. This
las been doubted, but their songs admit the fact to this day,
and they ascribe their having left off the odious practice of
entrapping human prey, to Moshesh having given them cattle.
They are called Marimo and Mayabathu, men-eaters, by the
rest of the Basuto, who have various subdivisions, as Makatla,
Bamakakana, Matlapatlapa, &c.
“The Bakoni farther north than the Basuto are the Batlou,
Baperi, Bapo, and another tribe of Bakuena, Bamosetla, Ba-
mapela or Balaka, Babiriri, Bapiri, Bahukeng, Batlokna,
Baakhahela, &c. &c.; the whole of which tribes are favoured
with abundance of rain, and, being much attached to agricul-
ture, raise very large quantities of grain. It is on their in-
dustry that the more distant Boers revel in slothful abundance,
and follow their slave-hunting and cattle-stealing propensities
quite beyond the range of English influence and law. The
Basuto under Moshesh are equally fond of cultivating the soil :
the chief labour of hoeing, driving away birds, reaping, and
winnowing, falls to the willing arms of the hard-working
women; but, as the men, as well as their wives, as already
stated, always work, many have followed the advice of the
missionaries, and now use ploughs and oxen, instead of the
hoe.
“3rd. The Bakalahari, or western branch of the Bechuana
family, consists of Barolong, Bahurutse, Bakuena, Bangwa-
ketse, Bakaa, Bamangwato, Bakurutse, Batauana, Bamatlaro,
and Batlapi. Among the last the success of missionaries has
88 APPENDIX. | sECT.
been greatest. They were an insignificant and filthy people
when first discovered; but, being nearest to the colony, they
have had opportunities of trading; and the long-continued
peace they have enjoyed, through the influence of religious
teaching, has enabled them to amass great numbers of cattle.”
The language spoken by some of these tribes, such as the
Bakwains and the Makololo, is called Sichuana. It is more
or less understood by all the Bechuana tribes’.
They were first visited by Europeans towards the end of
the last century ; but, unfortunately, by marauders who made
a bad impression.
These people, who reside by compulsion in the
aya ia Kalahari desert, are traditionally reported to be
the oldest of the Bechuana tribes. Although
dwelling in a desert they are fond of agriculture, and of rear-
ing domestic animals. They possessed enormous herds of
large-horned cattle before they were driven into the desert by
the pressure of other tribes. They are a timid race, and live
far from water, in order that they may keep as secluded as
possible. Some of their little villages extend down the Lim-
pop 0.
Dr Livingstone, in the letter dated Teté, thus speaks of
them: ‘“ They generally attach themselves to influential men
in the Bechuana towns, who furnish them with dogs, spears
and tobacco, and in return receive the skins of such animals as
they may kill either with the dogs or by means of pitfalls.
They are all fond of agriculture, and some possess a few goats ;
but the generally hard fare which they endure makes them
the most miserable objects to be met with in Africa. From
the descriptions given in books, I imagine the thin legs and
arms, large abdomens, and the lustreless eyes of their children,
make the Bakalahari the counterparts of Australians’.”
1 For an account of this language, see Appendix, p. 106.
2 Letter, dated Teté.
u1.] SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 89
The These names are indiscriminately used with
Backwains Yeference to the particular branch of the great
or
Bechuana race, which alone retains the original
Bechuanas.
name of the whole. To prevent confusion it is
well to keep this distinction in view.
Those called Bechuanas live towards the centre of the con-
tinent; their territory extending from the Orange river to
18° south latitude. They principally inhabit plains.
“Compared with the Caffre family, they are all effeminate
and cowardly; yet even here we see courage manifested by
those who inhabit a hill-country. Witness, for example,
Sebituane, who fought his way from the Basuto country to
the Barotse and to the Bashukulompo. Moshesh shewed the
same spirit lately in his encounter with English troops. These
stand highest in the scale, and certain poor Bechuanas, named
Bakalahari, are the lowest!.”
Sechele is their chief; their government is patriarchal ; the
under chiefs being heads of families, or houses. Hence the
larger their families, the greater the importance of its patri-
archal head. The Bechuanas cling to their fathers, and de-
spise their mothers; and are remarkably fond of children.
These people, especially the women, pride themselves in bear-
ing pain without wincing. Men scorn to shed tears. They
practise circumcision, but with concealed rites; and are in-
veterate rain-makers. Their dress consists chiefly of a sort of
skin cloak; this awkwardly made, and badly fitting a body
shining with grease and red-ochre, and with a head glittering
with blue mica schist and fat, does not form a very attractive
object for contemplation.
‘The Backwains are good friends of the English; yet they
are rendered defenceless by Sir George Cathcart’s “ gunpowder
ordinance,” whereby they are denied arms and ammunition;
hence the Boers oppress them.
Their singing is a sing-song & 6 6, ae, ae, ae. They make
1 Letter dated Teté.
90 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
everything round, except their game-pits, which are square or
parallelograms ; but shew inaptitude for handicraft employ-
ments. The slave-trade is cordially hated by them; Euro-
peans inspire them with fear. They have a great objection to
praying and preaching, but dance and hunt with much zeal.
It is much disputed as to whether these
‘magnificent savages” are negroes, or not. The
following is Dr Pritchard’s statement of the
case, as well as his own conclusion about it: ‘‘ The difference
of physical characters between the Kafirs, meaning the Ama-
kosah, and the Negroes known to us in Western Africa, are
so great as to have appeared to many travellers to be distine-
tive of separate races, and of varieties of the human species,
very remote from each other. The Kafirs have been thought
by intelligent and accurate observers, to resemble the Arabs
more than the natives of intertropical Africa. The conclusion
to which we are led by the most careful researches into their
history is, that nothing in their physical or moral qualities
confirms the hypothesis of an Asiatic origin. They are a
genuine African race, and, as it appears highly probable, only
a branch of one widely-extended race, to which all the Negro
nations of the empire of Kongo belong, as well as many tribes
both on the western and eastern side of Southern Africa’.”
The Kafirs form one tribe of the great Bechuana family ;
their national characteristics are well-known to our cost, being
warlike and enterprising. Dr Vanderkemp commenced the
first mission among them in 1799. A new mission was com-
menced by Mr Williams in 1816.
These people have spread themselves widely over the
eastern coast, various branches receiving different names, such
as Caffre and Zoolus; they are called Landeens on the banks
of the Zambesi.
Dr Livingstone, at page 201, Travels, says:
“The Caffres are divided by themselves into various sub-
The Kafirs, ,
or Caffres.
1 Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, Vol. 11. p. 344.
11. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 91
divisions, as Amakosa, Amapanda, and other well-known titles.
They consider the name Caffre as an insulting epithet.
“The Zulus of Natal belong to the same family, and they
are as famed for their honesty, as their brethren who live ad-
jacent to our colonial frontier are renowned for cattle-lifting.
The Recorder of Natal declared of them, that history does not
present another instance in which so much security for life and
property has been enjoyed, as has been experienced during the
whole period of English occupation by ten thousand colonists
in the midst of one hundred thousand Zulus.
““The Matebele of Mosilikatse, living a short distance
south of the Zambesi, and other tribes living a little south
of Tere and Senna, are members of this same family. They
are not known beyond the Zambesi river. This was the limit
of the Bechuana progress too, until Sebituane pushed his con-
quests farther.” |
He gives the following character of them, as a race: “‘ The
Caffres or Zulus, are tall, muscular, and well made; they are
shrewd, energetic and brave; altogether they merit the cha-
racter given them by military authorities, of being “ magnifi-
cent savages.” Their splendid physical development and form
of skull show that, but for the black skin and woolly hair,
they would take rank among the foremost Europeans '.”
Our traveller says that the “ Kafir wars are known and
felt more in England than in Africa.” In the letter dated
Teté, he speaks of the confusion introduced by the indiscri-
minate use of the word “ Caffre.” ‘I never can repress a
smile when Boers or Englishmen speak of the more abject of
the Bechuanas as ‘ Caffres.’ The real Caffres or Zulu race are
those who have banged about the English soldier so uncere-
moniously, and are as remarkable as New Zealanders for
suffering no nonsense from either white or brown. This differ-
ence in national character explains at a glance why the tide
1 Travels, p. 95.
92 APPENDIX. [sEcr.
of emigration spreads away from Caffreland towards the
more central parts—in the Sovereignty and Cashan moun-
tains.”
Sir Harry Smith says that to fight with Caffres is like
contending with Circassians or Algerine Arabs. Their late
fatal delusion in destroying their cattle will be remembered
by many.
These people are the most interesting to us,
camer since they figure principally in connexion with
our traveller’s great discoveries. Moreover he is
the only white man who has yet visited them. The present
Zambesi expedition is bound for their territories, by way of
that river. :
They belong to the great Bechuana family ; being one of
its most powerful representatives. They are more of the
Caffre than of the true negro type: being somewhat of a
coffee and milk colour, high-spirited, independent, and having
some European characteristics. Under Sebituane, and accom-
panied by some Basutos, they found their way from the south,
in a small number, and spread themselves over a large tract
from the northern bank of the Zambesi, as far as 14° south
latitude. Sekeletu is their present chief.
These people are honest among themselves, but still in-
curable warlike marauders. Hence they are hated and feared
by their neighbours. They dwell among the swamps of the
Barotse valley, Linyanti being their capital. From their place
of residence they are subject to febrile diseases. They despise
agriculture and lead a careless life; but are very anxious to
trade with Europeans.
Their mode of government is genuine feudalism; baving
a paramount chieftain, who governs a number of under chiefs,
who render him suit and service, and pay their tribute in
kind. The Picho is their parliamentary assembly, at which
the senators speak with boldness and freedom. This is held
in an enclosure called the Kotla. They inflict capital
It. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 93
punishment. At p. 183, Travels, is a graphic account of
their courts of law, in which both defendant and _ plaintiff
speak ; the chief giving the final decision.
The Makololo are the lords of the soil, being in a position
with reference to the Makalala, Barotse, and other conquered
tribes, analogous to that of the Normans in England, and the
British in India.
In manners they are disgusting; and very vindictive and
bloodthirsty. They make round huts ; and being gregarious,
eat together; in so doing they pass a joint of meat hot from
the fire from one to the other, each one biting a piece out.
Since they possess a great abundance of cattle and a fertile
country, they lead easy lives. The men eat, drink, sleep, hunt,
and go on expeditions; while the women and subject-tribes
labour at home. Notwithstanding, the Makololo ladies do
little except adorn their persons and court-yards, and live
an animal life. They are good humoured and kind; having
short woolly hair, anointing their bodies with butter, and
wearing an ox-hide kilt from the waist to the knee.
The men are cowardly towards animals, but brave towards
men ; their arms being chiefly shields and spears. To prove that
these people are hospitable we need only mention their kindness
to Dr Livingstone, than which what can be more touching,
spontaneous, and real ?
The This is the only other branch of the Bechu-
MATEBELE. ana family which can here be described. They
are a Zoolu or Caffre tribe, residing on the southern bank of
the Zambesi, and are almost constantly at war with the Ma-
kololo. Their territory stretches hence nearly to the eastern
coast, in a south-east direction. Under their warlike chief,
Moselekatse, they conquered the Bakone tribes, slaughtering
or making them captive, and destroying their towns.
In Chap. xxix. of Mr Moffat’s Missionary Labours
and Scenes in South Africa is a most interesting and instruc-
tive account of his visit to this chief. Those who desire to
94 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
know what heathen savagism in South Africa really is, should
read that chapter.
They waged a doubtful warfare with Sebituane, who de-
feated and crippled them, driving them from the Zambesi.
We now confine our attention to those tribes visited by
Dr Livingstone, during his two great journeys, who do not
belong to the Bechuana variety. In doing this we go back to
Lake Ngami.
The Accounts of these can be read in many books,
Bushmen. since they spread over regions which have been
visited by other travellers. These people are the only real
Nomads of South Africa, residing in the desert from choice.
They are aborigines of this portion of the continent; subsist
on game, and have an intense love of liberty; but are mise-
rably degraded.
The Ba- These curious people reside on the banks of
koba, or Bay- the Zouga. Their language shews their affi-
South eet: nity to the tribes in the North. They call
Quakers. themselves ‘‘ Bayeige,” i.e. ““men.” The Be-
chuanas call them “ Bakoba,” i.e. “slaves.” They make
fishing-nets knotted just like ours! In digging pairs of
wedge-like pitfalls wherein to entrap game they evince much
ingenuity : as also dexterity in spearing fish.
Hear our traveller's account of them as men of peace,
given in the letter dated Teté: “They live on the reedy islets
of the Zouga, cultivate gardens, rear goats, fish and hunt
alternately, and are generally possessed of considerable mus-
cular development. Wherever you meet them they are
always the same. They are the Quakers of the body politic
in Africa. They never fought with any one, but invariably
submitted to whoever conquered the lands adjacent to their
rivers. They say their progenitors made bows of the castor-
oil plant, and they broke; ‘therefore (!) they resolved never
to fight any more.’ They never acquire much property, for
every one turns aside into their villages to eat what he can
m1. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 95
find. I have been in their canoes, and found the pots boiling
briskly until we came near to the villages. Having dined,
we then entered with the pots empty, and looking quite inno-
cently on any strangers who happened to drop in to dinner.”
An attempt at making them soldiers failed, as will be seen
by the following statement :
** A long time after the period of our visit, the Chief of the
Lake, thinking to make soldiers of them, took the trouble to
furnish them with shields. ‘Ah! we never had these before ;
that is the reason we have always succumbed. Now we will
fight.’ Buta marauding party came from the Makololo, and
our ‘ Friends’ at once paddled quickly, night and day, down
the Zouga, never daring to look bebind them till they reached
the end of the river, at the point where we first saw it!.”
The Under this general term the natives them-
MAKALALA. — gelves embrace the whole negro family of tribes,
as distinguished from the Bechuana variety; and especially
from the Makololo: the Makalala form the great bulk of
the inbabitants in the Makololo country. They had never
seen a white man before Dr Livingstone. These people reside
chiefly between 22° and 23° south latitude; and are in sub-
jection to others, being somewhat in the condition of the
ancient Saxon villeins. Their service is genuine serfdom,
since it was originally dictated, and is still kept up, by force
of arms.
As is often the case with the wronged and weak, the
Makalala are great thieves; and are the pirates of the Lee-
ambye. The Makololo treat them like children rather than
as slaves, since they can so easily run away to other tribes,
the chiefs of which are always eager to receive them.
In manners they are mild and submissive; they cultivate
dura, maize, beans, ground nuts, pumpkins, water-melons,
sugar-cane, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and manioc. The
1 Travels, p. 64.
96 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
hoe is the rude instrument of cultivation over the whole
region. These people are smiths: and are very expert in the
management of canoes. They fear the Makololo on land,
and the latter fear them on the water. Devoted love for
their mothers is a beautiful trait in the Makalala character.
The These are a stranger-people introduced to us
BAROTSE. by Dr Livingstone. They dwell in the great
Barotse valley ; and are now subjects of the Makololo. On
account of the periodical inundations of the Leeambye, they
build their villages on mounds; Naliele is their capital.
They never saw an European before Dr Livingstone and
Mr Oswell, who visited them in 1851. This visit is become
a chronological zra among them, which is signalised as “ the
year in which the white man came.”
Their simplicity is shewn by the absurd practice adopted
of giving their children such names as “gun,” “man,”
“waggon,” &c. They shew great energy and activity in
crossing their flooded country ; exercise a graceful hospital-
ity; believe in the power of the eye; and have great intri-
cacies in their social polity.
The These are perhaps the most important people
BALONDA. — revealed to us by Dr Livingstone. The im-
mense country which they inhabit is called “ Londa,” or
“Lunda.” The feudal principle prevails among them. Mati-
amvo is their paramount chief, who resides somewhere about
lat 8°, 20’. S., long. 22°. 32’. E. Probably no European has
yet visited him ; yet by report he is anxious for such a visitor.
Our traveller visited Shinte, and Masiko, who were kind to
him; also Manenko, and Nyamoana, female chieftains, who
likewise treated him well; as well as Katema. These, with
the hero Kewawa, mentioned in note, p. 10, are all Balonda
chiefs. Generally speaking our traveller was treated with
consideration, hospitality, kindness and confidence by those
several tribes.
U1. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 97
In these people the negro type is strongly developed, their
heads are more woolly than the Bechuana tribes. They file
their teeth to a point; tattoo; treat their women with great
consideration, wear arms, and are very hospitable. The life
they lead is that of dreamy indolence. They have a great
dislike for the Makololo, not without reason; and hate the
slave-trade.
In manners they are inoffensive and very polite. They
have a singular mode of salutation by rubbing the face, arms,
and chest with ashes. When travellers appear among them,
they lend them the roofs of their houses for shelter, which are
moveable at pleasure. Their towns have straight streets, plan-
tations and square houses. Manioc is their staff of life; but
they cultivate many valuable vegetable productions. They
have little dress, but no idea of immodesty. With them the
time is spent in marriage and funeral ceremonies, and ever-
lasting talk. In ability they are gifted, very teachable, but
lamentably ignorant.
These are emphatically the black sheep of
ais ag Africa. Dr Livingstone did not visit their
country, but met with, and heard of them too
often in the prosecution of their accursed trade. What the
jackal is to the lion, so are these men to those fiends in the
white man’s form—the European slave-dealers. In fact, the
slave-trade is almost entirely fed by them. They wander over
the interior and steal, purchase, or decoy away the natives,
taking them to the coast for sale. LEvangelize these Mambari,
and get the Portuguese to prohibit their subjects from carry-
ing on this interior traffic, and, humanly speaking, you have
stopped the slave-trade, as far as central South Africa is con-
cerned, for these are the sole agents of its prosecution on land.
These people reside near Bihe, inhabiting the country
south-east of Angola. They are of the Ambonda family, of
Makalala origin, as dark as the Barotse, and speak the Bunda
98 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
dialect, the native language current in Angola. An Ambonda
chieftain named Kangombe rules over them.
Not only are they slave-purchasers, but first teachers of
the traffic in some instances among the interior natives. Pro-
fessor Sedgwick has already told us of the traffic being com-
menced with Sebituane in 1851. This was their doing, bar-
tering clothing and old Portuguese guns for boys. In this
case, as in many others, the guilt was on their side. They
took advantage of the urgent necessities of the native pur-
chaser by refusing to trade except for slaves. Ivory and other
valuables were offered, but refused. In 1850 they took home
a favourable account of the opportunities for trade among the
Makololo; in 1851 they went themselves as we have seen;
and in 1853 a Portuguese came to deal in slaves, kidnapping
a whole village. Since he was carried in a hammock, he is
remembered by the people as “ father of the bag.”
In settling the conditions for a foray on one occasion, with
the Makololo, they bargained as a price for using their guns,
that they should make slaves of the captives, and that their
partners should take the cattle as prizes.
Santura, a Barotse chief, predecessor of Sebituane, not only
refused their offers to trade in slaves, but sent them summarily
about their business. Not so with Masiko, another Barotse
chief, who restricted himself to selling them orphans. They
profess to use the slaves for domestic purposes.
These people use an activity worthy of a better cause.
They are very avaricious, and bring Manchester and other
British goods into the heart of Africa. Get them to pursue a
lawful trafic, and they would become as active for good as
they are now for evil. Being by all means desirous of pre-
venting the natives from trading directly with Europeans,
they invented and spread the report of the white man’s living
in the sea, eating negroes, &c. They trade very extensively,
taking slave-gangs about in chains, and have frequently crossed
the country to the western side.
II. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 99
These are probably the most complete savages
with whom our traveller has held intercourse in
Africa. They reside on the islands of the Zam-
besi, and amid the fastnesses of its banks. He found them a
large-bodied race, fierce, blood-thirsty, and the men entirely
naked. They seemed to be more astonished at his disproving
of their nude condition, than ashamed of it.
These people were numerous, and possessed immense herds
of cattle until Sebituane utterly routed and subdued them,
capturing their cattle. ‘‘ Secure in their own island fortresses,
they often inveigled wandering or fugitive tribes on to others
which are uninhabited, and left them there to perish. The
river is so broad, that, when being ferried across, you often
cannot see whether you are going to the main land or not. To
remove temptation out of the way of our friends, we drew the
borrowed canoes last night into our midst on the island where
we slept, and some of the men made their beds in them. I
counted between fifty and sixty human skulls mounted on
poles in a village near Kalai, being those of men slain when
famishing with hunger; and I felt thankful that Sebituane
had rooted out the bloody imperious ‘ Lords of the Isles?’ ”
A Batoka chief whom Dr Livingstone visited had his
village adorned with fifty-four human skulls, on pointed poles.
They boasted that few strangers ever returned from a visit to
that quarter. The way to propitiate a chief is to cut off a
stranger's head, and bring it to him.
In manners they are most brutal. Their mode of salutation
is to lie down on the back and slap the thighs. Their lan-
guage is a dialect of the others spoken in the great valley.
Their tribe is now a mere shadow of what it was, having
been almost rooted out by the successive onslaughts of Sebi-
tuane, Pingola, a chieftain from the north-west, and the Mate-
bele of Moselekatse. Dr Livingstone almost came to blows
with them on two occasions.
1 Letter, dated Hill Chanyuné.
The
BATOKA.
15
100 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
There are many other South African tribes whom we
cannot now even name, the object here being either to gene-
ralize with respect to race, or to particularize only in reference
to such tribes as our traveller brings under our notice in con-
nexion with his travels.
The general question of manners and customs
Traces of the . , : :
ancient Egyp- 18 an interesting one, but cannot be entered into
tians in many now. Still some remains of the ancient Egyp- -
respectsamong |. . .
the modern tans appear among the people in various parts
South Afri- of South Africa in this as well as in other par-
tar ticulars.
In the deep recesses of the dark forests of Londa, the
people have cut human faces on the bark of the trees, the out-
lines of which, with the beards, closely resemble those seen on
Egyptian monuments}.
“The different Bechuana tribes are named after certain
animals, shewing probably that in former times they were
addicted to animal-worship like the ancient Egyptians.
The term Bakatla means ‘they of the monkey; Bakuena
‘they of the alligator; Batlapi, ‘ they of the fish ;’ each tribe
having a superstitious dread of the animal after which it is
called?.”
After the manner of the same people, one tribe never eats
the animal which is its namesake, using the term “ila,” hate,
or dread, with reference to killing it. Traces of extinct ancient
tribes exist, as the Batau, “they of the lion ;” the Banoga,
“they of the serpent.” The Bechuanas hate the alligator.
If a man be bitten, or even splashed by one, he is expelled his
tribe. When a Backwain goes near one of these monsters, he
spits on the ground, saying “there is sin.” A student of
Egyptian history will easily see the connexion between this
modern African practice and the feuds of the olden times
? Travels, p. 304. 2 Ibid. p. 13.
111. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES, 101
arising from the animal-worship on the banks of the Nile.
For a like reason the Bechuanas will not eat fish.
The Makololo pound maize in large wooden mortars; the
exact counterpart of which may be seen on the Egyptian
monuments’.
The mode of weaving cotton in Angola, and throughout
central Africa, is so like that of the same people, that our
traveller has introduced a wood-cut from Sir Gardener Wil-
kinson’s Ancient Egyptians, illustrative both of this and the
above practice’.
With reference to the peculiarities of race, our traveller
says; ‘“‘The monuments of the ancient Egyptians seem to me
to embody the ideal of the inhabitants of Londa, better than
the figures of any work of ethnology I have met with*.”
As regards the mode of dressing the hair among the
Banyai, he says: “As they draw out their hair into small
cords a foot in length, and entwine the inner bark of a certain
tree round each separate cord, and dye this substance of a
reddish colour, many of them put me in mind of the ancient
Egyptians’.”
Other traces of that wonderful people may be seen; such as
the rite of circumcision, the doctrine of the metempsychosis,
and some other arts and customs.
_ These indications are interesting and important, since they
help the question of the unity of our race, and shew how in-
fluential and permanent the teaching of one people becomes on
the minds and practice of another; hence bidding us to hope
the more for the lasting influence of true civilization and
Christianity on untaught heathen and idolaters.
sh ieiste This question is merely mooted here. Dr
andgeographi- Pritchard says such is largely the case; Dr
cal situation Livingstone says but little. ‘The former reasons
influence race? xe a? :
a posteriori; the latter @ priori. Dr Pritchard
1 Travels, p. 196. ® Ibid. p. 400.
3 Ibid. p. 624. 4 Ibid. p. 379.
15—2
102 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
says that climate and geographical situation make men in time
brave, cowardly, bright, or stupid; Dr Livingstone says that
men choose, when they can, a mountainous or a flat country,
in accordance with their native energy and national predi-
lections.
The outline of Dr Pritchard’s argument is as follows: the
same races evidence marked differences of physical character
and particularity of complexion, which are successive, or by
gradations in accordance with climate and geographical situa-
tion. This he illustrates by numerous examples}.
Dr Livingstone consents to all this as far as colour is
concerned, but not so much in other respects. He also
supports his argument by a reference to facts. Admitting
that such variations are observable as Dr Pritchard indicates,
he attributes these, as above stated, to race, not to outward
circumstances. Hear his argument: “ But though it is all
very well, in speaking in a loose way, to ascribe the develop-
ment of national character to the physical features of the
country, I suspect that those who are accustomed to curb
the imagination in the severe way employed to test for
truth in the physical sciences would attribute more to race
or breed than to mere scenery. Look at the Bushmen—
living on the same plains, eating the same food, but often
in scantier measure, and subjected to the same climatorial
and physical influences as the Bakalahari, yet how enor-
mously different the results! The Bushman has a wiry,
compact frame; is brave and independent; scorns to till
the ground or keep domestic animals. The Bakalahari is
spiritless and abject in demeanour and thought, delights in
cultivating a little corn or pumpkins, or in rearing a few
goats. Both races have been looking at the same scenes for
centuries’.”
‘“« The cause of the difference observed in tribes inhabit-
ing the same localities, though it spoils the poetry of the
1 See Work, Vol. 11. Chap. xv. § r. 2 Letter dated Teté.
U1] SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 103
thing, consists in certain spots being the choice of the race
or family. ‘So when we see certain characters assembled on
particular spots, it may be more precise to say that we see
the antecedent disposition manifested in the selection, rather
than that the part chosen produced a subsequent disposition.
This may be evident when I say that, in the case of the
Bakalahari and Bushmen, we have instances of compulsion
and choice. The Bakalahari were the first body of Bechuana
emigrants who came into the country. They possessed large
herds of very long-horned cattle, the remains of which are
now at Ngami. A second migration of Bechuanas deprived
them of their cattle and drove them into the desert. They
still cleave most tenaciously to the tastes of their race.
While, for the Bushman, the desert is his choice, and ever
has been from near the Coanza to the Cape. When we see
a choice fallen on mountains, it means only that the race
meant to defend itself. Their progenitors recognised the
principle, acknowledged universally, except when Caffre
police or Hottentots rebel, viz. that none deserve liberty
except those who fight for it. This principle gathers
strength from locality, tradition develops it more and more,
yet still I think the principle was first, foremost, and alone
vital'.”
With reference to colour, our traveller makes some re-
markable statements. He says that heat alone does not
produce blackness of skin, but heat and moisture com-
bined.
He suspects that five longitudinal bands of colour run
across the South African Continent: “ Apart from the in-
fluences of elevation, heat, humidity, and degradation, I have
imagined that the lighter and darker colours observed in the
native population, run in five longitudinal bands along the
southern portion of the continent. Those on the seaboard of
both the east and west are very dark; then two bands of
Letter dated Teté.
104 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
lighter colour lie about three hundred miles from each coast,
of which the westerly one, bending round, embraces the Kala-
hari Desert and Bechuana countries; and then the central
basin is very dark again}.”
ee. This is an important subject even in a mis-
eases and na- Slonary point of view. We have before seen
tive medical the importance to African missionaries and tra-
practice. : : .
vellers of possessing medical and surgical know-
ledge?. It is well here to give an idea of the direction and
extent of the availability of such knowledge, in order that
the departments the most useful and likely to be wanted
may be known.
Of African diseases, it is generally acknowledged that
fever is the most prevalent and fatal. There are also pneu-
monia and other inflammations ; rheumatism, disease of the
heart, and indigestion. Hooping cough is frequent, but
ophthalmia very prevalent.
Many of our own diseases are happily unknown in
Africa. The doctor heard possibly of one case of hydro-
phobia among the Bakwains. But he met with no con-
sumption, no scrofula, no confirmed insanity or hydro-
cephalus, cancer or cholera; neither some internal com-
plaints, nor cutaneous diseases, and but little idiocy.
Small-pox and measles twenty years ago ravaged the in-
terior, being caught from the coast, but have not appeared
since.
He makes a curious statement about a certain loath-
some disease, viz. that it dies out of itself in the pure
African race; and is virulent and permanent or not, just in
accordance with the proportion of European blood in the
veins of the patient.
A comparison of these tables of diseases shews that civi-
lization, like all other earthly goods, is not an unmixed
blessing.
1 Travels, p. 339. 2 See note, p. XVII.
111. | SOUTH AFRICAN TRIBES. 105
The native medical practice, as might be expected, is
very defective. They have some good remedies, especially
for fever. Inoculation and cupping are known to them.
Medicines are regarded as charms. Surgery is at a low ebb
among them. In midwifery they are particularly unskilful.
Women are the sole practitioners in such cases. Dr Living-
stone conferred great benefits both in medicine and surgery
on multitudes during his residence in Africa.
To establish these points is of great con-
Mai nee Benne sequence to Africa, and the world, but espe-
native South cially to our own country. The truth is, the
Africans for interior Africans are shrewdly alive to the im-
commerce ; as r id
well as the fit- portance of trade. This is especially shewn
ness of their in the case of the Makololo. The Bechuanas
soil and its pro- : :
ductions for and Basutos love agriculture; while the Ba-
commercial — tonga are well-skilled in it. Other tribes give
PARES evidences of being good handicraftsmen. More-
over, they have not only the desire and ability to become
traders in a lawful traffic, but also they are in the position of
the best of customers, viz. almost unlimited wants as to arts
and manufactures, &c. as well as boundless resources in raw
material to give in exchange.
Various parts of this little book give ample evidence of
the fitness of their soil and of its productions for commercial
purposes. All the staple food for man and beast can be
produced in lavish profusion ; while valuable minerals, such
as coal, iron and gold, are likewise procurable.
What they want is direct intercourse and trade with
Europeans, in order to destroy the unlawful traffic of the
Mambari and native Portuguese. This being one great
object of the present expedition, our manufacturers and
traders are as much interested in its successful issue, as men
of science, philanthropists, and Christian Churches.
106 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
THE SICHUANA LANGUAGE.
“¢ And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” —
Gen. xo
“*Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that pate
may not understand one another’s speech.” —Gen. v. 7.
THE question of Language is one of the most important
in connexion with Dr Livingstone’s African discoveries
past or future. It will here be shewn that such is especially
the case with the Sichuana, spoken by the Bechuana
tribes.
Being the means of communication between man and
man, Language is concerned with all the great topics
embraced in the central African question.
For the following condensed account of this language
I am indebted to the kindness of Professor Sedgwick, who
allows me to make a few notes from a copy of an unpub-
lished work of Dr Livingstone’s sent to him as a parting
memorial of friendship by our traveller two days before the
expedition set sail. This book ‘‘ An Analysis of the Language
of the Bechuanas by David Livingstone” was written by
him in “1852, at Kuruman. 25 copies only were printed in
February last, for the use of the Members of the Zambesi
expedition, with a view of imparting to them a general idea
of the structure of South African languages. Hence this in-
formation to the general reader is entirely new. Our limits
will not admit of more than a brief view of this subject.
We may here remark that the word Sichuana is an
adjective applied to anything belonging to the nation. The
national name Bechuana is simply the plural of Mochuana,
a single individual.
In reference to the general question of affinities in
language, it is very striking to observe the likeness in
several respects between this and the ancient Egyptian.
Chevalier Bunsen, in his “ Hgypt’s Place in Universal
iI. | STCHUANA LANGUAGE. 107
History ;’? and Dr Pritchard, in the volume before quoted,
both discuss the influence of the ancient Egyptian lan-
guage on African dialects in general. Dr Livingstone says
of this influence with reference to Sichuana:
‘“‘In believing that there exists a resemblance between
the African languages and the ancient Egyptian, we are
guided by affinity in structure. There has been nothing
done until now to fix the former, while the latter appears
before us unchanged in its state of primitive development,
though thousands of years old. The system, however, of
affixes, prefixes, formation of the verb, &c., which may be
said to form the scaffolding of the two languages, continues
essentially the same. A remark of Dr Lepsius, quoted in
vol i. p. 276 of the Chevalier Bunsen’s work, “that the
vowel forming the termination of certain polysyllabic
Egyptian words, in Coptic always forms part of the sound
of the first syllable,” seems to contain the germ of the
system of signs now so largely developed in Sichuana.
Reduplication, in order to impart intensity, is also perpetu-
ally employed, thus: ma, mother; mamaisa, to nurse, to
comfort; élola, to remain; tlolatlola, remain some time;
tlogo, the head; ¢logotlogo, the heads of the people =the
elders ; or in the following ditty spoken to the fire in kind-
ling it :—
fire catch-catch | wood | brothers | mine | they | tremble-tremble
molelo | cuara-cuara | logon bo nake}| bo | roroma-roroma
= fire, do catch the wood; my brothers are trembling much.
Adjectives, too, are used as verbs; thus: molemo, good or
goodness ; lemohala, become good; molatu, guilt or guilty;
latuhala, become guilty ; latuhatsa, cause to become guilty
=accuse; itle, beautiful; iztlahatsa, make beautiful; ele,
long; lelehatsa, make long. ‘Then nouns are formed from
these again, thus: temohalo, a becoming good; tatuhalo, a
becoming guilty =latuhaco, accusation ; telehaco, a making
long; tsépha, cleanse or purify; tsépho, purity; itsépha,
108 APPENDIX. [ sect.
cleanse oneself; zséphisa, make oneself pure ; boitsépho,
holiness. It is also worthy of observation that the inser-
tion of the letter s into the verb converts being into action
(Bunsen, p. 275). It forms the causative, the stimulus to
the activity of the predicate. The letter /, too, engrafted
on to the root, plays an important part in the expression of
relationship’.”
In another place he remarks; “The Sichuana absolute
verb, like that of the ancient Egyptian is often ex-
pressed by the same words which express the absolute
noun: a peculiarity which, according to Bunsen, may be
explained in a philosophical point of view by the insepara-
ble union, and therefore apparent identity, of the two ideas
of personality and existence. I have often been struck by
the similarity the structure of this language bears to
Sichuana’.”
Community of customs, physical conformation, and
speech, shew a remarkable link between the inhabitants of
the two extremes of the Continent.
At page 103, we quoted Dr Livingstone’s opinion that
the lighter and darker colors of the native populations run
in five longitudinal bands across the Continent. He says
that language can be traced in like manner.
‘it is singular that the dialects spoken by the different
tribes, have arranged themselves in a fashion which seems
to indicate migration along the lines of colour. The dialects
spoken in the extreme south, whether Hottentot or Caffre,
bear a close affinity to those of the tribes living immediately
on their northern borders: one glides into the other, and
their affinities are so easily detected, that they are at once
recognised to be cognate. If the dialects of extreme points
are compared, as that of the Caffres and the tribes near the
Equator, it is more difficult to recognise the fact, which is
really the case, that all the dialects belong to but two
1 Analysis, &c., pp. 38, 39- 2 Ibid. p. 2.
III. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 109
families of languages. Examination of the roots of the
words of the dialects, arranged in geographical order, shows
that they merge into each other, and there is not nearly so
much difference between the extremes of east and west as
between those of north and south; the dialect spoken at
Teté resembling closely that in Angola1.”
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SICHUANA LANGUAGE.
«A bird’s-eye view of the structure of the language is
easily obtained by classifying the particles or signs of
nouns, and by separating the roots or radicals from all
their flexions and combinations with prefixes, suffixes, and
other signs, whereby relation, determination, demonstration,
reversion, causation, distribution, &c. &c., are expressed.
Radical nouns and verbs are then seen to constitute the
hard skeleton of the language, and these, in learning to
speak it, are to be mastered by the exercise of the memory
alone’.”
The elementary forms and flexions of the
verbs and roots, and the numerous particles
and signs, form a remarkable feature in this and all cognate
dialects. These are the chief peculiarities in the structure
of the language.
“‘ Each of the signs has a determinate definite meaning,
and admits of being classed with others into a few orders,
and, when applied to the radicals, they impart thereto their
distinctive meaning, and eliminate an almost infinite variety
of shades of thought extremely interesting to the mind
which can fairly grasp the wonderful peculiarity *.”
These particles are simple, have few exceptions, and are
correctly and invariably employed by ali classes. The
great feature in them is, that they make up for what would
Signs.
1 Travels, p. 339. 2 Analysis, dc. p. 4.
3 Ibid. p. 4.
APPENDIX.
110 [ SECT.
be the confusion confounded of nouns, verbs, pronouns, and
adverbs being used convertibly the one for the other.
The repetition of the signs of nouns gives precision to
the sentence. These signs impart force and clearness to
each member of a proposition, and prevent any mistake
about the antecedent. By a single letter or syllable a recur-
rent allusion to a subject spoken of can be made, without
such circumlocution as ‘‘ The said defendant” “‘ Said sub-
ject matter” used by ourlawyers. The sign in Sichuana is
employed in the same manner as the Greek article; but
always comes after the noun.
say “dog a” or “
moon the”
It certainly is strange to us to
but so speak the Bechuanas;
enca e for the one; and “uerz e for the other’.
These signs are arranged by Dr Livingstone into three
classes which embrace all the nouns in the language’; the
following is a conspectus of these classes.
Ist CLASS.
SINGULAR.
Particle e.
All nouns beginning with the
letters p, e, ¢, k, t, i, n, i, N, take
e as their particle or sign in the
singular number.
(Pecktining.)
PLURAL.
Particle li, or tse.
All nouns beginning with the
letters p, e, c, k, t,i, n, i, i, form
their plural by prefixing , which
_& repeated after the noun is the
pl. sign; tse is interchangeable
‘with li for the sake of euphony.
2nd CLASS.
Particles bo, le, lo, se, yo, ye.
‘All nouns beginning with the
syllables bo, le, lo, se, take bo, le,
lo, se, as their signs; bo and le
having yo and ye supplemental,
(Bolelose.)
1 Analysis, p. 9.
Particles a, li, tse.
All nouns beginning with the
syllables bo, le, lo, se, form their
plural thus: 60, le are changed
into ma, and the pl. sign isa. Lo,
se follow ist class, forming the plu-
ral by becoming i; li, tse are the
| pl. signs.
2 Ibid. p. 11.
11. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 111
3rd CLASS.
Particles 0, €0, 0. Particles e, ba.
All nouns beginning with a, All nouns in a, mo form the
mo, b, mo, a, take o as the sign. | plural bychanging mo into me, and
Personal nouns on 6, mo, take eo, | have e as their plural sign ; 6, mo,
and o supplemental. or personal nouns in mo, form the
plural by changing mo into ba;
foreign words do the same.
These particles or signs have no less than sixteen uses;
in fact they perform the functions of numerous parts of
speech, indeclinable in this language, but declinable in most
others.
These uses are :—
I. Sichuana nouns being indeclinable, these particles
alone undergo the changes which express the oblique cases.
Ex: tiho ea mothu, work of man; mothu oa tiho, man of
work, &c'.
II. The first thing which strikes an European on
opening a Sichuana book is the reduplication of the parti-
cles. The sign repeated twice is used exactly as 6 7%
in Greek, that which ; dt: wretoTov = 6 Ti TO mieiotov, “ that
which the most.” So in Sichuana tzho e e klolu, “ work that
which is great,’ &c?.
III. When connected with the substantive verb, go le,
or go na, to be, reduplication of the particle shews time
past. Thus: sélémo se le monate summer is pleasant;
selemo se le se le monate, summer was pleasant, &c’.
IV. The signs become pronouns to their respective
classes of nouns by affixing the syllable na or ona.
V. They become demonstrative pronouns when fur-
nished with the affix uo.
VI. Totality or universality is expressed in reference
to any of the nouns of which these particles are the signs
1 Analysis, p. 11. * Ibid, p. 11. 3 Ibid, p. 13.
112 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
when the affix ofle is applied to them, as Nama eolle, all
flesh, &c'.
VII. The opposite of totality is expressed by the affix
pe. The meaning approaches to “any” or “none,” thus :—
ga gona epe, there is not any, &c.
VIII. Distance from the individual speaking is indi-
cated by the affix le or Ja applied to the signs; as,—dztlare
tséle, trees yonder, &c.
IX. Present locality of the speaker is expressed by the
affix nu, applied to the signs enu, tsenu, gonu, yenu, lonu,
senu, anu, onu, banu. These, however, seem mixed with
those which take the affix cu, and express property of the
person present.
X. General interrogation respecting nouns is expressed
by beginning the sentence with a, and affixing ai (ang) to
the Signs:—ean ? = what? &c. With verbs the ringing %
is added: o rihilen ? he has done what? &c.’
XI. Distributive interrogation is expressed by affixing
the particle he to the sign:—e, ehe, bo bohe, all signify
which when a question is put respecting any noun, or class
of nouns ;—nama ehe, which flesh, &c.
XII. The signs become distributive pronouns by
affixing the termination we (ingwe);—e, efue, &c. and
answer to the English each; if reduplicated, every, and
every other :—Khomu enue, each ox, or one ox: er
Khomu enue le efiue, ox each and each, or
every Ox.
XIII. Unity or integrity, or the idea of being alone,
povos, Solus, is expressed Ly the affix ost:—as e, eosi, &c.
Ex. Mari aosi, blood alone, &c.
XIV. Intensity or ugliness with respect to any noun
is expressed by the affix be to the Sign as bobe, &c. Ex.
boshula bobe, wicked very; mothu eo mabe, man the ugly,
* Analysis, p.14. 2 Tbid..p.ites
ii. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 113
&e. Beauty is also expressed by iiitle, affixed to any sign.
Ex. mothu o mointle, a beautiful person, &c.*
XV. Entity, or existence, is expressed by the affix
on (ong), as eon, lion, &c. Ex. lilo cotle tse ri eon, things
all that which exist, or all things in existence. Non-
existence is expressed by the ga, not, and eo, Ex. gaeo,
no one. Khomu gaeo, there is no ox.
XVI. Time when is expressed by the affix re, and ra,
as ere, lire, &c. Ex. lore lo riha, when ye make, &c.
This account of the Signs, gives, to a great extent, a
view of the structure of the language; hence remaining
remarks can be brief.
‘** Many of these have their origin in the
conjugations; the changes necessary to give
them the substantive form being effected in the initial and
terminal portions of the word, while the radical remains
2 99
entire’,
Nouns.
Personal nouns are formed by prefixing mo, and chang-
ing the termination into 2, thus riha, work; morthi, worker.
Rera, to preach; moreri, a preacher, &c.°
All verbs having vocal initials, as a, 2, 0, u, e, é become
nouns by changing the initial letter into /, and the terminal
letter into o.
Ex. a, aka, to lie = kako, falsehood.
i, tla, to hate = kilo, hatred, &c.
Other nouns are formed from initial changes too numer-
ous to mention here*. Nouns and personal pronouns are
formed from any part of the verb.
A neuter noun is formed by the prefix se, thus; rera,
to preach ; thero, a preaching ; or serero, a sermon, &c. ©
Nouns derived from the causative conjunction form
their terminations by sho. Ex. ya, eat; yela, eat for; yesa,
cause to eat; seyo, food; seyelo, seyeso, something which
one has been caused to eat, = poison’.
1 Analysis, p. 16, 2 Ibid. p. 31. 3 Ibid. p. 32.
4 Ibid. p. 31. © Thid. p. 32.
114 APPENDIX. [ scr.
There is no gender expressed either in
nouns, pronouns, adjectives, or verbs. ‘ The
same particles are applied to the masculine, feminine, and
neuter; the same relative pronouns to both sexes. Hence
the children of Missionaries, in speaking English, apply He
and Him to both men and women’.”
The genders. are known by the addition of certain
words :—mothu means a person or individual (homo), and
may be applied to a country, as mothu eo thamaga, the
individual (country ).
Monona (vir) distinguishes sex, and implies ability.
All male animals are distinguished by the word tona,
which when used towards things inanimate invariably
means large; Ex. cukuru e tona, a he, or large rhinoceros,
A man after circumcision is called monona.
The feminine is expressed by the addition of the word
art, or gart. A woman after puberty is called mosari = “ one
who brings forth.”
The genders of animals are known by the terms gari,
and namagari. Bx. khomu ea pholu, an ox ; khomu e noma-
Gender.
gari, a cow, &c.
Gender is expressed in inanimate things, as in French:
Ex. leincue ge lo tona, a large or he rock ; leincue ge le nam-
agari, a smaller rock in the vicinity.
The idea in the native mind is evidently that of large,
for males, and small, for females; these latter are invariably
put in diminutives’.
In the verb neither person nor number is
distinguishable, except by personal nouns or
pronouns, and the particles*.
The Sichuana has an absolute, or substantive verb,
which, like that of the ancient Egyptian, is often expressed
by the same words which express the absolute noun*.
Verbs.
1 Analysis, p. 17. 2 Ibid. p. 18.
3 Ibid, p. 19. 4 Ibid. p. 21.
I. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 115
‘‘The absolute verb, or copula, or, in other words, the
verb which shows simple connection between action and
agent, is ki=the personal pronoun J, used demonstratively ;
or Je, otherwise the connective conjunction and; and na,
otherwise the pronoun me; na, present time ; Ja, na, past:
*ntse, perfect. The tenses of the others which are used for
the verb ‘‘to be” show their tenses too, either by reduplica-
tion or in their endings. They are preceded by the same
words as nominatives. A pronoun is thus capable of being
both a nominative and a verb. Moreover, any one of the
simple signs of nouns may be used as the verb “to be :”
Morimo o molemo, God he or the good, viz. God is good;
Morimo ki molemo, God’s good, meaning God is good; ki
khomu, it is an ox; kia ratoa ki Morimo, I am loved by
God; ki Morimo o, 0, ’nthataz, ’tis God he, who, me loves =
itis Ged who loves me.'’
The past tenses are expressed by reduplication. Ex.
ki le motlatika, I ama servant; ki le ki motlanka, I was a
servant. Time still farther back would be expressed by an
additional /e. Still more distant time is signified by greater
reduplication. An aorist tense seems to exist.
Future time is expressed by prefixing //a, which means
come: ki tla tla, I come come, or I shall come.
Procession in time is understood by the phrase go ila
go tsamaea, to come to go = until.
The potential, optative, infinitive, and imperative moods
all exist in the language.
The negative copula, or verb, contains the idea of aver-
sion, and is used to shew non-connexion between subject
and predicate.
The infinitive is the pure root in Sichuana verbs, for it
is simply predicative, expressing the meaning of the word
without reference to persons or time: go rtha, to do, make,
or work = ago, égi, aclum, &c.*
1 Analysis, &c. p. 21. 2 Ibid. p. 25.
16
116 APPENDIX, [ SECT.
The passive voice is formed by inserting o before the
terminal a or e of the active. Ex. riha, rihow am made, &ce.
The absolute form is given to any part of the verb by
adding the word hela = only ; ki na hela, I am only, &c.
The term conjugation is used in Sichuana in the same
sense as in the Hebrew, viz: to express different forms of
the same verb; and not, as in Greek and Latin, to distin-
guish different classes of verbs from each other by peculiari-
ties of form and inflexion.
Dr Livingstone enumerates twelve simple primary con-
jugations, of which nine are in constant use: also twenty-
four complex secondary, and four complex ternary conju-
gations'.
With reference to the flexibility of these verbs, he says;
“If any one should perpetrate the feat of writing out a
Sichuana verb, with all the tenses, persons, moods, voices,
and probable or possible combinations, it would cover a
sheet equal to a pretty large table-cloth’.
The independent Personal pronouns preceding noun or
verb are;
Singular Plural
a | re = We
u = Thou lo = You
o= He. ba = They.
Personal pronouns are also expressed as suffixes or
affixes added to nouns or verbs.
The primitive mode of expressing the personal pronoun
by means of suffixes is largely employed in this language.
The possessive pronoun is never put before the noun.
The only approach to declension in Sichuana nouns and
pronouns besides the suffix %, occurs in the suffixes ka, and
ke. Ex. If a child is addressed, he is spoken to as zuanaka ;
if spoken of, nuanake ; both meaning my child’,
' Analysis, pp. 28—31. 2 Ibid. p. 30. 3 Joid. p. 21.
U1. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. wb]
This language expresses the comparison of adjectives in
a very quaint way.
“An attempt at comparison is made by adding the word
great, great-great, or great, from golu, from gola, to grow:
selo se se golu, a thing which is great; selo se se golu bogolu,
a thing which is greater (great-great) ; or it is made by mo,
go, out, from=than: mothu eo, 0 mogolu go eole, this man is
great to the other yonder.
The superlative is indefinitely represented by -reduplica-
tion, and the addition of such words as ¢hata, strong ;
mahura, fat; bobe, very; phola, &c.; mothu eo, 0 mogolu
bogolu thata, this man is great-great strongly.
The word kholu, which is nearly the same as golu, great,
imparts the idea of old age: mothu eo kholugolu, an ancient
man; babogolugolu, the ancients'.”
The question of Numerals being so interesting to all
readers, as well as methods of counting, I feel constrained
to quote the following passage from pp. 36, 37, of the
Analysis ;
« NuMERALS.—Each numeral takes the sign of the noun
counted, thus: mothu monue hela, one man; khomu enue
hela (hela meaning only). Then all the other plurals, da,
li, me, ma, &c. Hence, when specimens of the numerals
have been furnished, philologists have been misled by the
signs and radicals being mixed together. When men are
counted the signs mo and ba are used. When the fingers
are counted the signs mo and me are used—from monwana,
finger; menuana, fingers. The people always begin with
the little finger of the left hand: the under finger of
the right hand is named shupa, the verb to show or
point out, and indicates number 7. In counting 8 the
little and ring fingers of the right hand are folded
down; hence 8 is called hera menuana meberi, or fold down
two fingers ; and 9 fold down one finger: 11 is 10 and one
1 Analysis, p. 18.
16—
to
118 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
over. We given a specimen of the fingers counted but not
expressed.
I. monue hela. Oxen khomu.
2. meberi. I. enue hela.
3. meraru. 2. liperi.
4. menne. 3. litaru.
5. metlanu. 4. dinne.
6. merataru. 5. litlanu.
7. meshupa. 6. litataru.
8. herameberi. 7. lishupa.
g. hera monue hela. 8. lihera meberi.
10. me shume. | g. lihera monue hela.
11. shume le a coa kaenue hela. | 10. lishume.
hela. 11. shume le a coa ka nue hela.
11. shume le a coa ka meberi. | 39, shume le a coa ka Jiperi.
12. shumele a coakameraru, &c. gonhue hela, once.
10. leshume lenue hela, one ten. gaberi, twice.
20. mashume maberi, two tens. gararu, thrice, &c.
30. mashume mararu, Xe. loa bonne, fourth time.
100. shume ye le golu, the great loa botlanu, fifth time.
ten, viz. 100.
200. mashumemagolu maberi, two loa borataru, sixth time.
great tens, 200.
“‘ Large numbers are indicated by the repetition of intsi,
Lontsi, many; bontsintsi, crowds, swarms. Lintst means
flies; the idea may have arisen from swarms of these.
They have no very definite idea of thousands, but one
thousand is easily counted as ten great tens: many figures
are used to denote multitudes, Kana ka boyan, like the
grass; kana ka linaleri, like the stars; kana ka tsie, like to
the locusts. They have also a plural in ma, which denotes
many; thus: nari, a buffalo; linari, buffaloes; manari,
many buffaloes. The native way of counting is so prolix
that missionaries have resolved to introduce the English
numerals, and they are readily adopted. The prolixity of
Sechuana may be understood when it is known that the
number 88 requires the whole of the following words:
II. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 119
mashume a hera menuana meberi le acoa ka go hera men-
uana meberi. ‘The people who live on the Zambesi make
counting still more complicated by counting in fives, viz.
five of left hand, five of right hand, five of left foot, five of
right foot ; so that it soon becomes so long in the description
there is no following it.”
Those who speak this language have a curious custom
of putting Ma and Ra before the name of the eldest son,
and of calling his parents by these newly compounded names
respectively. Thus they call Mrs Livingstone Ma- Robert,
i.e. the mother of Robert. They would call the father of
Sekeletu, if he were alive, “ Ra-Sekeletu.”
A little attention to the following rules will enable
the reader to pronounce accurately any of the difficult
words occurring in the book of Travels.
The best way is to compare the language with our
own; calling in the aid of any others with which we
may be acquainted whereby to supply rules on points
wherein the English may fail.
All the vowels are sounded in Sichuana, for example
the final e, which is a point of difference from our own.
Probably the best rule to follow for pronunciation is that of
the Italian, even including c, giving to fi the ringing sound
of the Spanish n; or putting anz before it, as ing.
In the following table, compiled from that of Dr Living-
stone’, combined with some remarks of Mr Moffat’s*, for
the sake of brevity, those letters or diphthongs are
only noticed. which differ in sound from our own: those
which are not here particularized can be read as the
English.
C, sounded as ch,in Church. Ex. caka (chaka) a battle
axe. Cisa (cheesa) to cause to dry up or burn.
1 Analysis, pp. 6—8.
2 Missionary Scenes and Labours, &e. p. 226, note.
120 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
é, with acute accent, as in clerical, friend, lemon. Ex.
Seka to judge; reka, to buy.
j, softer than the English 7; like » in vat.
g, guttural, as ch in loch (Scotticé) dag (Dutch) = Greek
X. Ex. gana, to refuse; gapa, to “lift” cattle; goga, to
draw. There is no hard g in Sichuana.
h, is always a Spiritus Asper, never forms f with p
as in English; when joined to another consonant, the
latter is enunciated with a hard breathing only. Ex.
phare, a cucumber = rape; thogo, a curse.
i, as in diminish, or as English e in peep, or German
sieben. Ex. pitse, a zebra; kika, a mortar; pino, a dance;
pico, an assembly.
k, as in English, « in Greek. Ex. kapa, to catch with
the hands (Scottice kep). Ad is the & strongly aspirated,
as in khaka/la, far; kopa, tobeg; khopa,to stumble.
m, with circumflex over it, =Spanish 7%, sounds as ing in
king, ring; only in Sichuana it sometimes forms the initial
sound of words: mai eo? (mang eo), what is this? (comp.
man hoo in Hebrew); forola, to deride; napa, to pinch;
jonorega, to grumble.
t, soft, and th aspirated; soft as in tool, tin; when
written with /, as th, the breath is forcibly expelled from
the mouth, while the teeth are held in the position for say-
ing t. It is never sounded as @ in Sichuana. Attention to
the aspirates is of vital importance in the correct enuncia-
tion of Sichuana. Ex. ruta, to teach; ratha, to beat or
thrash.
ae, as English 2, in high, lie. Ex. tsamaea (tsama, a
staff; ea go), go or travel; bolaea, to kill; apaea (apia), to
cook.
oe, and ue, as wa in wait. Ex. ela (aeyla), to fall
towards; wetsa, to finish; @ and we, as terminals, as que
in English, Ex. leshue, filthy ; senkhue, bread (singque).
is, as Hebrew tsaddai, y. Ex. ¢sela, live, pour, or ford a
————
U1. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 121
river, also a path; tsaro, a date-tree; tsaca, take; lsasa,
smear,
tl, the 1 in this combination is aspirated, and the 7 pro-
nounced at the same time. Insert ¢ instead of & in klick,
and the ¢/ sound is easily pronounced. Ex. tla, come and
shall; ki tla tla, I shall come.
To apply these rules to some of the proper names
occurring in the book of Travels.
’"Ngami = ingahmee.
Chiboque = Cheebokwa.
Shinte = Sheenta.
Sekeletu = Sekelatu.
Sebituane = Sebetuahna.
Sichuana, Bechuana, and Sechele, would, according to
the above rules, be Setchuahna, Betchuahnah, and Setchala;
but in pronouncing them himself our traveller rather gave
chak sound, These may be exceptions.
All words in this language end in a vowel, except a
few in 7%. The emphasis is always put on the penulti-
mate, except in words ending in ji; in these the w/ltimate
receives the emphasis. In sentences the last word generally
has the emphasis’.
IMPORTANCE OF THE SICHUANA LANGUAGE.
It would be difficult to overrate this. Sebituane’s con-
quests have made it both the common vernacular and
court language among the tribes of a large part of central
South Africa.
In addition to this it is understood more or less by
the members of the whole of the great Bechuana family
of tribes. Dr Livingstone shews this at page 1 of the
Analysis as follows;
“There exists the closest relationship between this
1 Analysis, p. 9.
122 APPENDIX. [sEcr.
primitive and almost perfect South African language and
the dialects spoken by the Caffres, Zulu, Matebele, Malo-
kuane, and Basuto. Indeed, the structure of all these is
essentially the same. The Bakhoba or Bayeiye of Lake
Ngami; the Bashubea, Barotse, and Batoka of the Leeam-
bye or Zambesi; the Bashukulompo, who live far to the
north-east of that river; and the Balojazi, who inhabit
countries far to the north-west of S. lat. 14°; with the
Bamoenye, Ambonda, Banyenko, Balonda, &c. &c., all
speak dialects which contain nearly as many Sechuana
roots as the English does of Latin. The list of words fur-
nished by Captain Tuckey in his ‘ Voyage up the Zaire or
Congo River,’ and the communications of the missionaries
in the country adjacent to Mombas, with vocabularies fur-
nished by the Baptist and Church missionaries at Fernando
Po and the West Coast, render it almost certain that the
groundwork of all south equatorial African tongues, except
the Bush or Hottentot, is of the same family as that
under consideration.”
In a commercial, scientific, and philological point of
view, this statement is of vast importance, but transcend-
entally so when considered with reference to morals,
philanthropy, and religion. It affords a key to active in-
tercourse with the inhabitants of the Southern half of the
Continent.
We must connect the facts of this language being
cognate with so many South African dialects, and of its
present wide diffusion, with another great fact providen-
tially furnishing a link in the complete chain wanted for
successful permanent missionary work.
Independently of Sebituane’s conquests, and of Dr
Livingstone’s explorations, Mr Moffat has translated the
whole Scriptures into this language. This translation has
secured a large number of words which would otherwise
have been lost.
—
m1. | SICHUANA LANGUAGE. 123
Both he and Dr Livingstone speak admiringly of the
extraordinary copiousness of this language. The latter says
on this point, “ Some idea may be formed of the comparative
capacities of expression of Greek, Sechuana, and English,
from the fact that the Septuagint version of the Pentateuch
contains about 140,000 words, the Sechuana 156,000, and
the English about 182,000 words. One word in Sechuana
often expresses seven or eight in English*.”
Although possessing great ductility, and a prodigious
number of flexions and combinations, this language has a
great redundancy of words for expressing ideas on many
topics—at least twenty for designating different ways of
walking—many for various stages of eating, as also for a
fool. In reference to the affections, as centered in the heart,
there is literally a cloud of expressions—from these the
following are selected:
pelu e cueu, a white heart = satisfied, well-pleased,
pelu e encu, a black heart = dark, designing.
pelu e segoe, a noosed heart = ensnaring, swindling.
pelu peri, two hearts = double-hearted, two-faced.
pelu tsari, a she heart = tender-hearted, kind.
go na le pelu, to be with heart, to have a heart = to be gene-
rous’*, &c.
With all this flexibility and copiousness, this language
was found by missionaries to have a deficiency which pain-
fully smites the soul of the true child of God. Let our
traveller himself make the startling statement: “ The ideas
of holiness, salvation &c., were not in the language till
introduced by missionaries. In droughts everything looks
shrivelled and wretched; but after a fine fall of rain the
earth is refreshed, the cattle are clean, the sun glances
gloriously on the young green leaves, and everything looks
gladsome. This change is indicated by the term ¢sepho, and
1 Analysis, p. 6, note. 2 Ibid. p. §.
124 APPENDIX. | SECT.
has been adopted as a ready means of explaining the healing
change from sin to holiness'.”
Are not missionaries wanted among such a people?
Many who assert the former, do not declare
The African
not naturally the latter. Perhaps the slave-holder and dealer
inferior in in- alone say that he is a mere animal without a
tellectual and :
spiritual en- soul. It is almost unnecessary to contend for
dowments to the possession of the immortal spark, and for
any other por- :
tion of the hu- @ partaking of the covenant of grace by our
man family. brother; but for the other position it 1s neces-
sary to strive.
In answer to objectors, we would say, Were not the
ancient Egyptians true negroes? They were the masters of
the civilization of the world. When Greece was just emerg-
ing from the shades of barbarism, and before the name of
Rome was known, this negro-land of Mizraim was proficient
in science and art, and Thebes the wonder-city of the world,
Solon, Plato, and a host of our Greek and Roman intellec-
tual masters, confess their obligations to that stupendous
“learning of the Egyptians” in which Moses was so apt and
abie a scholar; notwithstanding, too often does the white
man of the present day undervalue the humble descendant
of that giant who helped to make him what he is!
Were there no native African Bishops of the early
Church, who shewed such intellect, piety, zeal, and activity
for the cause of good, as even to influence the creeds and
formularies of the West? Who was Cyprian, and who was
Augustine? Some of these Bishops shewed mighty intellect
for evil, as well as good. Who was Tertullian?
Some of the opponents and allies of redoubtable Rome
Pagan were no mean warriors: Who was Masinissa, who
Jugurtha, and who was Syphax?
Toussainte L’Ouverture, a pure African, was a trouble-
some opponent of the elder Napoleon in St Domingo.
1 Analysis, p. 39, note.
ut. | MORAL AND RELIGIOUS ASPECT. 125
The native orators of the present day shew good speak-
ing talent: as well as no small amount of common sense,
and intellectual ability.
What the African wants is education—elevation—fair
treatment, and, emphatically, Christianity: with these, he
will soon outshine many who now look down proudly on
him.
Section IV.—Dr Livingstone’s labours, explorations, and
discoveries considered as to their extent and results in
their Mora and RELIGIOUS ASPECT.
‘*¥or the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen.”—Obad. 15.
** And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations,”—
Rey, xxii. 2.
In this concluding portion of our little volume it will be
well to review the Missionary bearing of the solution of the
great central South African problem. Man is the most
Important object of our solicitude, whenever we want one
whereon to exercise our talents and benevolence. He pos-
sesses an immortal soul to be saved or lost. In this point
of view our traveller’s labours and discoveries assume pro-
portions at once solemn, gigantic, and unspeakably import-
ant. Science, philosophy, literature and art all pale their
splendours and lose their worth when weighed in the
balances with the human soul, Other branches of our race
are now introduced to us. We are, and ought to be, anxious
about their moral and spiritual state; these being topics of
eternal interest.
In this Section the best course to adopt appears to be,
that of trying to produce a conviction of the need of Christian
training and instruction among these Africans; and then to
shew what has been already done—what is being effected—
and what remains to be accomplished in these regions, with
reference to such training and instruction.
126 APPENDIX. [SECT.
The present Morar Connitio0n of the Natives of South
Africa.
‘*For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of
cruelty.” —Ps. lxxiv. 20.
“‘They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart
was darkened.”—-Rom. i. 21.
Real heathenism is the same in principle and practice in
every age and country of the world. We have had an ap-
palling spectacle and realization of these in the late Sepoy
atrocities in India; and in some revolting episodes of the
Chinese war.
The picture of heathen faith and practice given by St
Paul, in Rom. i.; and iil. 10—18, applies with equally for-
cible truth to the heathen in the present day, as it did to
the Greeks and Romans of his own. With reference to
South Africa, there might be this difference, that its native
inhabitants are uncivilized, while those to whom the Apostle
refers were highly cultivated as to intellect and the arts of
life. But whatever differences exist as to outward con- .
dition, yet spiritually speaking, all heathen are dark, and
utterly alienated from God.
Missionaries and others returning from India tell us of
the painfully exciting and yet deadening influence of hea-
thenism on the soul. Dr Livingstone, after his nie weeks
tour with Sekeletu, although he was treated by all with
great kindness and consideration, thus speaks of such in-
tercourse: “‘ Yet to endure the dancing, roaring and sing-
ing, the jesting, anecdotes, grumbling, quarrelling and
murdering of these children of nature, seemed more like a
severe penance than anything I had before met with in the
course of my missionary duties. I took thence a more in-
tense disgust at heathenism than I had before, and formed
a greatly elevated opinion of the latent effects of missions
Iv. | MORAL CONDITION. 127
in the south, among tribes which are reported to have been
as savage as the Makololo!.”
In another place he says: ‘ But amidst all the beauty
_and loveliness with which we are surrounded, there is still
a feeling of want in the soul in viewing one’s poor com-
panions, and hearing bitter impure words jarring on the
ear in the perfection of the scenes of nature, and a longing
that both their hearts and ours might be brought into har-
mony with the Great Father of Spirits”.”
Such portraits are painful to contemplate.
The life of God in the soul, purity of thought and man-
ners, together with the bringing forth of the fruits of the
Spirit, are never exhibited in any except Christian countries,
whatever the dark side of these countries may be.
. The question of the moral sense is not to
4 ah ee csigyee be discussed here; nevertheless much can be
ceptions, and gathered both for and against it from Dr
degraded man- J] ivingstone’s narrative.
ners and cus- ‘ re
ities We find even public morality in some cases
at a very low ebb; Dr Livingstone tells us that
there is not even a public opinion of purity and decency.
He states that among the Makololo all the women, married
and single, are expected to be, and are, at the call of the
chief; likewise that a female chieftain regards each man of
her clan as her quasi-husband; and that such is the case
with most other tribes, as well as the practice of polygamy.
Some of the Balonda and Barotse tribes are an honourable
exception in the treatment of their women.
The Makololo use most awful language ; swearing, curs-
ing and obscene expressions being their delight. They
are not only foul-mouthed, but but also very dirty in their
habits and persons.
As far as dress is concerned, most of the people have
but little; while murder and the grossest of crimes, often go
1 Travels, p. 226. 2 Ibid. p. 259.
128 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
unpunished. With vast numbers the ideas of common hon-
esty, public law, private duty, and proper obligation between
man and man, are, to a great extent, in abeyance. Sekomi,
a Bechuana chief, tried to palliate an act of extortion by:
shewing that it was not swindling’. On one occasion our
traveller concluded that an old Bushman had no con-
ception of morality whatever. He says of him “When
his heart was warmed by our presents of meat, he sat by
the fire relating his early adventures: among these was his
killing five other Bushmen. ‘Two,’ said he, counting on his
fingers, ‘ were females, one a male,:and the other two calves.’
-—‘ What a villain you are to boast of killing women and
children of your own nation! what will God say when you
appear before him ?’—‘ He will say,’ replied he, ‘that I was
a very clever fellow.’ This man now appeared to me as
without any conscience, and, of course, responsibility, but,
on trying to enlighten him by further conversation, I dis-
covered that, though he was employing the word which is
used among the Bakwains when speaking of the Deity, he
had only the idea of a chief, and was all the while referring
to Sekomi, while his victims were a party of rebel Bushmen
against whom he had been sent’.”
Dr Burchell informs us that the Batlapis view murder
with perfect indifference. Mr Moffat adds that during his
stay among these people a man killed his wife in a rage.
Remarking of this crime, ‘‘ When I endeavoured to repre-
sent to the chiefs, with whom I was familiar, as old ac-
quaintance, the magnitude of such crimes, they laughed, I
might say inordinately, at the horror I felt for the murder
of a woman by her own husband’.”
The Bushmen and Bakalahari are unspeakably degraded ;
making the beasts of the field their companions, they are
become almost assimilated to them in their every-day life.
1 Travels, p. 146. 2 Ibid. p. 159.
3 Missionary Labours, &c. p. 465.
Iv. | MORAL CONDITION. 129
Tattooing is universally practised among these tribes:
drunkenness prevails to a great extent in Angola, and is
not unknown in the interior.
Mr Moffat, in the account of his visit to Moselekatse,
chief of the Matebele, thus graphically describes one of that
monarch’s feasts: ‘‘The bloody bowl was the portion of
those who could count the tens they had slain in the day of
battle. One evening two men bore towards me an enormous
basket. It was the royal dish sent from the presence of his
majesty. The contents, smoking blood, apparently as liquid
as if it had just come from the arteries of the ox, and mixed
with sausages of suet. I acknowledged the honour he
wished to confer, but begged to be excused so lordly a dish,
as I never ate blood when I could get anything else. This
refusal gave perfect satisfaction, when the whole breast of
an ox, well stewed, was immediately sent in its place. As
nothing can be returned, the bearers of the smoking pre-
sent, and others who were standing round it, had scarcely
heard that they might do what they pleased with it, when
they rushed upon it, scooping it up with their hands, mak-.
ing a noise equal to a dozen hungry hogs around a well-
filled trough'.”
The Mambari and some other tribes, eat the most dis-
gusting food, such as mice, moles, &c.
Respecting the Makololo, Dr Livingstone gives the fol-
lowing account of their moral state: “They do not attempt
to hide the evil, as men often do, from their spiritual in-
structors; but I have found it dificult to come to a con-
clusion on their character. They sometimes perform actions
remarkably good, and sometimes as strangely the opposite.
I have been unable to ascertain the motive for the good, or
account for the callousness of conscience with which they
perpetrate the bad. After long observation, I came to the
conclusion that they are just such a strange mixture of good
1 Missionary Labours, &c. p. 553.
130 APPENDIX. . |fsizem:
and evil, as men are everywhere else'.” He goes on. to
speak of the rich being kind to the poor in expectation of
services ; and of the sick poor being left to starve, and then
to lie unburied.
In Mr Moffat’s book there are more terrible
Their cruelty : :
and want of pictures of native cruelty than in that of Dr
natural affec- Livingstone.
ibs In a battle between the Mantatees and the
Bechuanas, witnessed by Mr Moffat, he tells us of the
wounded warriors, and the women and children, of the
former tribe, being killed by the men of the latter, in cold
blood. On the one hand he saw the living babe in the arms
of its dead mother, or the dead infant in those of its living
mother: and, on the other hand, he beheld the mutilation
of captives, together with mothers and children rolled in
blood?!
The following is a picture of Batlapi cruelty, practised
against their Mantatee invaders: ‘‘The wounded enemy
they baited with their stones, clubs, and spears, accom-
panied with yellings and countenances indicative of fiendish
joy. The hapless women found no quarter, especially if
they possessed anything like ornaments to tempt the cupi-
dity of their plunderers. A few copper rings round the
neck, from which it was difficult to take them, was the
signal for the already uplifted battle-axe to sever the head
from the trunk, or the arm from the body, when the plun-
derer would grasp with a smile his bleeding trophies.
Others, in order to be able to return home with the triumph
of victors, would pursue the screaming boy or girl, and not
satisfied with severing a limb from the human frame, would
exhibit their contempt for the victims of their cruel revenge,
by seizing the head, and hurling it from them, or kicking it
to a distance *,”
1 Travels, p. 510. 2 Missionary Labours, &c. p. 361, &e.
3 Ibid. p. 369.
Tv. ] MORAL CONDITION. 131
The march of these Mantatees for hundreds of miles
might have been traced by human bones.
He met with the custom in Namaqua-land, of the parri-
cide of parents by their children, when too old to do any-
thing; leaving them to starve in the desert. He once fell
in with a mother so abandoned’.
Of the cruelty practised by the Matabele against the
Bakone tribes, the following eloquent account was given by
one of the latter, to Mr Moffat, in answer to an inquiry
about some ruins, which he saw scattered over a plain in
the neighbourhood of the Moselekatse’s capital. The com-
mencement of this native’s speech states that he himself
beheld the disaster—that this was the home of the chief of
the blue-coloured cattle, whose people were numerous and
brave—going on to say: ‘The noise of their song was
hushed in night, and their hearts were filled with dismay.
They saw the clouds ascend from the plains. It was the
smoke of burning towns. The confusion of a whirlwind
was in the heart of the great chief of the blue-coloured
cattle. The shout was raised, ‘ They are friends; but they
shouted again, ‘ They are foes,’ till their near approach pro-
claimed them naked Matabele. The men seized their arms,
and rushed out, as if to chase the antelope. The onset was
as the voice of lightning, and their spears as the shaking of
a forest in the autumn storm. The Matabele lions raised
the shout of death, and flew upon their victims. It was
the shout of victory. Their hissing and hollow groans told
their progress among the dead. A few moments laid hun-
dreds on the ground. The clash of shields was the signal
of triumph. Our people fled with their cattle to the top of
yonder mount. The Matabele entered the town with the
roar of the lion ; they pillaged and fired the houses, speared
the mothers, and cast their infants to the flames. The sun
went down. The victors emerged from the smoking plain,
1 Missionary Labours, &e. p. 133.
132 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
and pursued their course, surrounding the base of yonder
hill. They slaughtered cattle; they danced and sang till
the dawn of day; they ascended, and killed till their hands
were weary of the spear'.”
In the following passage the missionary gives a terrible
picture of Matabele warfare: ‘The Matabele were not
satisfied with simply capturing cattle ; nothing less than the
entire subjugation or destruction of the vanquished could
quench their insatiable thirst for power. Thus when they
conquered a town, the terrified inhabitants were driven in a
mass to the outskirts, when the parents and all the married
women were slaughtered on the spot. Such as dared to be
brave in the defence of their town, their wives and their
children, are reserved for a still more terrible death; dry
grass, saturated with fat, is tied round their naked bodies,
and then set on fire. The youths and girls are loaded as
beasts of burden with the spoils of the town, to be marched
to the homes of their victors. If the town be in an isolated
position, the helpless infants are either left to perish with
hunger or to be devoured by beasts of prey. On such an
event, the lions scent the slain and leave their lair. The
hyenas and jackals emerge from their lurkingplaces in
broad day, and revel in the carnage, while a cloud of
vultures may be seen descending on the living and the
dead, and holding a carnival on human flesh. Should a
suspicion arise in the savage bosom that those helpless in-
nocents may fall into the hands of friends, they will prevent
this by collecting them into a fold, and after raising over
them a pile of brushwood, apply the flaming torch to it,
when the town, but lately the scene of mirth, becomes a
heap of ashes’.”
Among the Bushmen, if a mother dies, leaving an in-
fant, this is often buried alive with her. Infanticide is com-
mon among these people.
1 Missionary Labours, &c. p. 528. 2 Ibid. p. 535.
IV. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 133
Dr Livingstone tells us of a Bechuana woman at Mabotsa,
who murdered her Albino son, because her husband refused
to live with her; she went unpunished by the authorities’.
He further informs us of a slave-girl bcing allowed to
starve by her master, because his crop had failed: also of a
boy being likewise left to the same fate?.
These statements are not made either from a morbid
love of feasting on the terrible, or of painting the dark side
of human nature; but to prove how necessary it is for the
Gospel to be made known among such benighted people, in
order that it may transform them in the spirit of their minds,
and cause them truly to abandon such Satanic practices.
We know that heathenism has its bright side; and that
heathen men and women oftentimes exhibit the noblest
traits of character, as well as practise the kindliest of the
virtues. But be it remembered that this is the exception,
and not the rule. Conscience may sometimes work, and
the soul may occasionally aspire after higher and better
things. Kindness, affection, and even justice may some-
timies govern for a time, but these do not affect the main
current, which is corrupt and poisonous. Whatever may be
the sins of omission and of commission of Christian lands,
these, in the main, are not to be compared in frequency
and enormity with those of heathen countries, in which the
best side of the question is almost entirely wanting.
The present Religious State of the Natives of South Africa.
‘* And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I
answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.”—Ezekiel xxxvii. 3.
*‘ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now com-
mandeth all men every where to repent.”—Acts xvii. 30.
The best way in which to understand a person’s need, is
to know his state. We have just reviewed the cruelty of
1 Travels, p. 576. 2 Ibid. p. st.
lj7—2
134 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
the inhabitants of these dark places of the earth; and now
we contemplate their spiritual gloom.
There are some very striking facts connected with the
religious condition of the tribes of the South African con-
tinent. This is likewise to be regarded in a twofold aspect.
Those in the south are not idolaters; whilst those farther
north are so. Then, again, the tribes in the south have
their rain-doctors, to make the rain; and those in the
north have theirs to prevent its falling. The people of
the south have no external worship, and hence are some-
times wrongly regarded as infidels, while those of the
north are more prone to worship, and have outward rites.
These latter have also somewhat the brighter religious
perceptions.
The; On this subject authorities are somewhat at
eideas of , : ;
God entertain. Issue. In the estimation of some persons,
edbytheSouth many Africans have no idea whatever of a
African tribes, ‘ ,
together with Supreme Being; according to the statements
their worship of others, all have some such an idea.
of Morimo and
Butino. Doubtless savages in general are thorough
sensualists ; still the spirit within bears witness
by its own promptings, longings and activity, of a something
and a some one beyond what sense can see or feel.
From long intercourse and observation, perhaps, Mr
Moffat and Dr Livingstone are the best authorities on the
subject. Their experiences and conclusions are evidently
different.
Mr Moffat says of the Bechuanas, Hottentots and Bush-
men, that he believes Satan to have erased every vestige of
religious impression from their minds. Concerning the
Bechuanas, he remarks: ‘To tell them, the gravest of
them, that there was a Creator, the Governor of the hea-
vens and earth,—of the fall of man, or the redemption of
the world, the resurrection of the dead, and immortality
beyond the grave, was to tell them what appeared to be
Iv. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 135
more fabulous, extravagant and ludicrous than their own
vain stories about lions, hyenas and jackals'.”
He found no legends, or altars, or unknown Gods, to
appeal to in their case. They “look on the sun with the
eyes of anox.” Yet these people are acute reasoners, and
minute observers of men and manners.
Dr Vanderkemp long before asserted his view of the
Atheism of some South Africans, saying of the Kafirs that
he never could perceive that they had any religion or idea
of the existence of a God.
Mr Moffat says both of the Hottentots and Namaquas,
that they have no word in their language expressing the
conception of Deity’. Neither could he find any innate
ideas of a Divine Being in the minds of the savages. They
say that their old men knew of God, but that they them-
selves have not been taught concerning Him. One chief,
lamenting that so wise a man as the missionary should vend
such fables for truth, said to his people around him,—
pointing to Mr Moffat,—“<<« There is Ra-Mary (father of
Mary), who tells me, that the heavens were made, the
earth also, by a beginner, whom he calls Morimo. Have
you ever heard anything to be compared with this? He
says that the sun rises and sets by the power of Morimo;
as also that Morimo causes winter to follow summer, the
winds to blow, the rain to fall, the grass to grow, and the
trees to bud; and casting his arm above and around him,
added, ‘God works in everything you see or hear! Did
you ever hear such words?’ Seeing them ready to burst
into laughter, he said, ‘Wait, I shall tell you more: Ra-
Mary tells me that we have spirits in us which will never
die ; and that our bodies, though dead and buried, will rise
and live again. Open your ears to-day ; did you ever hear
litlamane (fables) like theseP’ This was followed by a
1 Missionary Labours, p. 245. 2 Ibid. p. 257.
136 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
burst of deafening laughter, and on its partially subsiding,
the chief man begged me to say no more on such trifles,
lest the people should think me mad!!”
Native converts have positively declared to Mr Moffat,
after conversion, that they had no notion of a God until he
taught them.
Dr Livingstone generally found a more or less clear
acknowledgment of the being, power, and eternity of God,
among the natives, and especially among the more intel-
lectual of the newly discovered tribes.
He says of the Bakwains, that their most intelligent men
scouted the idea of any of them ever having been without
tolerably correct ideas about good, evil, a future state and
God. Of these people he adds: “There is no necessity for
beginning to tell even the most degraded of these people of
the existence of a God, or of a future state, the facts being
universally admitted. Everything that cannot be accounted
for by common causes is ascribed to the Deity, as creation,
sudden death, &c. ‘ How curiously God made these things!’
is a common expression ; as is also, ‘He was not killed by
disease, he was killed by God’ And, when speaking of
the departed—though there is nought in the physical ap-
pearance of the dead to justify the expression—they say,
‘He has gone to the gods,’ the phrase being identical with
‘abut ad plures*.”
Despite the individual cases of pure atheism found
among the heathen by travellers and missionaries, yet these
cases do not disprove the existence of a moral sense or
natural conscience in the whole body of the heathen. How-
ever dark may be the spiritual perceptions of any tribe of
men, still there exists a “feeling after God” in the soul
endued with immortal promptings. St Paul decidedly
teaches this view in Rom. i. 20; and especially so in ch. ii.
14, 15; a passage well-known among scholars as the basis
1 Missionary Labours, pp. 267, 268. 2 Travels, p. 158.
IV. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 137
of one of Bishop Butler’s masterly sermons on Human
Nature. .
Our traveller accounts for Caffres and Bushmen appear-
ing so Godless, from their want of reverence even for what
they know to be holy and true, and from their being de-
stitute of any form of public worship, or of idols, or of
formal prayer and sacrifices’.
In the dialogue between the medical doctor and the
rain-doctor, the latter acknowledges the being of God, but
accuses him with favouring unfairly the white man in com-
parison with the black, saying that he has “no heart” to-
wards the negro’.
Senhor Candido, the Portuguese judge among the natives
on the east coast, told our traveller that the natives of this
region have clear ideas of a Supreme Being, the maker and
governor of all things, whom they call ‘‘Morimo,” “ Mo-
lunga,” “Reza,” ‘‘ Mpambe,” in the different dialects spoken.
In undergoing the ordeal they lift up their hands towards
heaven, calling on God to witness their innocence. The
Barotse name Him “‘ Nyampi,” and the Balonda “ Zambi’*.”
The tribes in the neighbourhood of the Victoria falls
call the rainbow formed by their vapour, ‘“ motsé oa ba-
rimo,” “the pestle of the gods.” On this our traveller
beautifully remarks—although they could not understand
and imitate his true character :—“‘ Here they could approach
the emblem, and see it stand steadily above the blustering
uproar below—a type of Him who sits supreme—alone un-
changeable, though ruling over all changing things*.”
It appears that most of the South Africans have vague
ideas about the Morimo and Barimo as objects of worship ;
some of the tribes regarding them as invisible, mighty, and
immortal beings.
Although the missionaries have adopted the word
1 Travels, p. 158. 2 Ibid. p. 24.
3 Jind. p. 641. 4 Ibid. p. 524.
138 APPENDIX. [SEcT.
Morimo for the name of the true God, yet, according to
Mr Moffat, the natives themselves never previously used it
in such a sense. They considered it to represent a malevo-
lent Selo, or thing, existing in a hole; describing it as some-
thing cunning or malicious, but few attributing to it any
power, and none granting it eternity of existence. Some
people in the south say that Morimo came out of a cave in
the Bakone country, leaving its footprints on the rock ;
others assert it to be a noxious reptile.
Barimo is an answer to the question “‘ Where do men go
when they die?” but heaven is not its meaning. It does
not convey to the Bechuana mind the idea of a person or
persons, but of a state or disease, that of being bewitched.
These people call a person who may be delirious or in a
fit “ Barimo,” = lirztz, shades or manes of the dead. Going
to Barimo signifies among them, passing onward, not to im-
mortality, but to death’.
The tribes in the north have more definite ideas about
these objects of worship, regarding them as departed spirits.
In this sense the diviners of Angola pretend to hold com-
munication with them; a sect is reported to exist in this
country who are said to kill men in order to present their
hearts as offerings to the departed spirits.
At funerals the Balonda beat drums in order to lay the
Barimo asleep ; on like occasions, a man fantastically dressed
runs, like a scape-goat, into the woods, as a representative
of these imaginary deities. On our traveller inquiring of
one of his men, on one occasion, if the halo round the sun
did not betoken rain, the man replied “O no, it is the
Barimo (gods, or departed spirits), who have cailed a picho;
don’t you see they have the Lord (sun) in the centre’ ?”
The conclusion to be arrived at is, that most of the
South African tribes have more or less clear idea of a
1 Moffat’s Missionary Labeurs, p, 261.
2 Travels, p. 220,
Iv. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 139
Supreme Being; but that they almost generally worship
directly or indirectly the spirits of departed human beings,
and this more from fear than love.
pot ee This interesting topic needs the less discus-
in the immor- sion, since it has been indirectly treated under
ia of the the last head. Like the ancient Egyptians,
the modern Hindoo and the Jews of old,
these tribes hold a sort of doctrine of transmigration of
souls. It is a great step in advance towards a purer faith
that they are not materialists; their very fears and supersti-
tions are in the right direction.
There is something peculiarly striking in the fact of
these African tribes being generally in precisely the same
state of mind as that in which the heathen of our Lord’s
andthe Apostles’ day, were, in reference to this momentous
doctrine. When Jesus Christ brought life and immortality
to light through his Gospel, the great majority of the Jews
believed with him that their souls would live after death,
although with an imperfect metempsychosian notion, When
Paul preached at Athens, or at Corinth or Rome, the philo-
sophic Greek and practical Roman familiarly understood,
and implicitly believed in, the deathless destiny of the soul
after death. Or when St John, and other Evangelists
and Apostles, declared the same truths before the minds of
the subtile and imaginative Asiatics, like results followed ;
the story was not new. In all ages and among all nations
such a belief has been more or less clearly held. The
universal assent to it among these newly-found tribes is only
an additional testimony to the impressive fact that the soul
feels and knows her own true instincts ;—that she craves
after that which is congenial with her own immortal nature;
like answering to like ;—that she is conscious of her un-
fledged untested and untold but enormous powers ;—that
she longs to escape the evil and to realize the good ;—and
that she sees with unmistakeably true intuition now and then
140 APPENDIX. [sEcr.
flashed upon her awakened consciousness in moments when
desires after God, holiness, purity and perfect happiness
electrify her inmost being,—that some better, purer and
more enduring dwelling-place than earth is the home for
which she would agonize as earnestly as she would desire it
by her nature, if she knew but how to realize its blessed-
ness’.
We shall shortly see how that this genera] belief, though
true in form, is signally different trom Christ’s Gospel in one
fundamental particular: the effect of this difference being
1 Dr Samuel Clarke, in his valuable and now but little known Boyle
Lecture, on ‘‘ The truth and certainty of the Christian Revelation,” brings
together a number of testimonies from celebrated heathen writers, who
speak with as clear an assurance of their belief in the immortality of the
soul as ever does St Paul, but without his revealed authority ; and with
the omission of the necessarily twin doctrine of the resurrection of the
body.
Socrates and Plato write with singular force with reference to the
immortality of the soul, as also does Cicero. The great difference be-
tween these, together with all other heathen authors, and the Christian
writers, being that the former always refer to the soul in the future state
as a disembodied spirit, and the latter as being joined to a glorified body.
Dr Clarke endeavours to shew the natural credibility of the soul’s
being immortal :—
1. From the necessity of a future state, in order to satisfy God’s
justice in setting straight the apparent inequalities of his moral govern-
ment of mankind in this life.
2. Even from the nature of the thing itself in believing the soul to
be immortal. 5
3. That necessary desire of immortality which seems to be naturally
implanted in all men, with an wnavoidable concern for what is to come
hereafter.
4. That conscience or consciousness which all men have of their own
actions, or that inward judgment which they necessarily pass on them
in their own minds. “ Their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts
accusing or else excusing one another.”
5. That man is plainly in his nature an accowntable being, and
capable of being judged. Prop. IV.
Iv. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 141
the same in his time among Jews and Gentiles and in our
own days among the African tribes, viz. that of the doc-
trine of the resurrection of the body becoming a stumbling-
block,—either in the form of a startling novelty, or of a
disproved and exploded fiction—producing blank amaze-
ment or stern opposition among them to whom its principles
may for the first time have been demonstrated.
The doctrine of the transmigration of souls is extensively
held among the natives of these regions. A Balonda tribe,
under the Chief Bango, refused to eat cattle, because they
declare them to tabernacle the souls of men. Some people
on the eastern side will not kill lions, because the spirits of
their Chiefs inhabit them: concluding, like the ancient
Egyptians, that after the departed from this life have dwelt
in animals &c., for a certain time, they will return to their
own bodies.
This discussion concerning the immortality of the soul
is a highly important and truly personal one.
The northern tribes of South Africa have the most
decided belief in this doctrine. The Balonda watch, and
put medicine on the graves of the dead, in order to keep
away the witches. One of the Barotse, having a head-ache,
said to our Traveller, with a sad and thoughtful counte-
nance; ‘‘ My father is scolding me because I did not give
him any of the food to eat,” adding that he was “ among
the Barimo'.” On another occasion Dr Livingstone asked
these people for some relic of their dead chief Santura.
<Q, no, he refuses.” ‘“ Who refuses?” ‘‘ Santura,”’ was their
reply, shewing their belief in a future state of existence’.
Surely with such promising prospects of a spiritual
harvest before the Christian world, evidenced in so many
ways, the soldiers of the Cross will be found with armour
bright, hope strong, faith unfeigned, and love unconquer-
able for their risen Saviour, ready, aye ready to say with
Travels, p. 331. 2 Ibid. p. 219.
142 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Paul, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” and to act
like him in carrying his Gospel into those regions wherein
it is so much needed.
Their ignor- Perhaps the great Apostle met with as
ance or denial much opposition to this one tenet of the
of the resur- als ‘ ‘ ,
rection of the Christian faith as he did to any other single
body. point of his teaching. This was more espe-
cially the case with the Gentiles than with the Jews.
When he preached his celebrated sermon on Mars’ Hill,
at Athens,—surrounded as he was by gorgeous idols, mag-
nificent temples, inimitable statues and other works of art,
together with a sharp-witted curious populace, and the
acute and learned representatives of the most renowned
schools of ancient philosophy,—we find that he was pa-
tiently listened to until he propounded this truth ;— And
when they heard of the RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD,
some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee again of
this matter)!”
The experience of Christian missionaries in South Africa
has been remarkably like this of St Paul’s, but with the dif-
ference that the groundwork of the opposition given to
them is not like that which was offered to him. The
abstruse question of physical identity, while he lost sight
of that of moral identity, was the obstacle in the way of
the reasoning Greek:—The more practical and experi-
mental one of the inconvenient workings of conscience, and
the terrible consequences of the reality and realization of
such a verity foreshadowing with so much startling proba-
bility dire punishment to the unrepentant sinner when
called to judgment and sentenced thereupon, makes a de-
termined opponent to its truth of the benighted African.
The Epicurean, or Stoic, with his multifarious knowledge
and solid understanding, in his day derided and hindered
1 Acts xvii. 32.
Iv. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 143
the Christian philosopher equally learned, as skilfully trained,
more eloquent, and better principled than himself :—The
blood-stained negro chief, by passion, vehemence and decla-
mation, nay even by violence, does the same with reference
to the zealous and active missionary.
Mr Moffat in his intercourse with Moselekatse taught
him of the resurrection of the dead. The chief heard him,
as did Sechele', with wondering awe. Instead of violently
opposing, Moselekatse appeared intimidated at hearing this
news, and said he would not go to war.
Makaba, chief of the Bauangketsi, hears the new doc-
trine with great excitement. It is Sunday—not the peace-
ful Sabbath day of a Christian land. Nature is beautiful,
but man is ill in tune with the harmony and glory around
him. Mr Moffat sets out for Makaba’s.town. He finds the
chief seated in the midst of a large number of his principal
men, all engaged either in preparing skins, cutting them,
sewing mantles or telling news. We will hear the mission-
ary’s own narrative of what took place:
«Sitting down beside this great man, illustrious for
war and conquest, and amidst nobles and counsellors, in-
cluding rain-makers and others of the same order, I stated
to him that my object was to tell him my news. His coun-
tenance lighted up, hoping to hear of feats of war, destruc-
tion of tribes, and such like subjects, so congenial to his
savage disposition. When he found that my topics had
solely a reference to the Great Being of whom, the day
before, he had told me he knew nothing, and of the Saviour’s
mission to this world, whose name he had never heard, he
resumed his knife and jackal’s skin, and hummed a native
air. One of his men, sitting near me, appeared struck with
the character of the Redeemer, which I was endeavouring
to describe, and particularly with his miracles. On hearing
that He had raised the dead, he very naturally exclaimed,
1 Lecture I. p. 4. ;
144 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
‘What an excellent doctor He must have been, to make
dead men live!’ This led me to describe His power, and
how that power would be exercised at the jast day in raising
the dead. In the course of my remarks, the ear of the
monarch caught the startling sound of a _ resurrection.
‘What!’ he exclaimed, with astonishment, ‘what are these
words about? the dead, the dead arise!’ <‘ Yes,’ was my
reply, ‘all the dead shall arise.’ ‘Will my father arise?’
‘Yes,’ I answered, ‘your father will arise.’ ‘ Will all the
slain in battle arise?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And will all that have been
killed and devoured by lions, tigers, hyenas and crocodiles,
again revive?’ ‘Yes; and come to judgment.’ ‘And will
those whose bodies have been left to waste and to wither
on the desert plains, and scattered to the winds, again
arise?’ he asked, with a kind of triumph, as if he had now
fixed me. ‘ Yes,’ I replied, ‘not one will be left behind,’
This I repeated with increased emphasis. After looking at
me for a few moments, he turned to his people, to whom he
spoke with a stentorian voice :—‘ Hark, ye wise men, who-
ever is among you, the wisest of past generations, did ever
your ears hear such strange and unheard of news?’ And
addressing himself to one, whose countenance and attire
shewed that he had seen many years, and was a personage
of no common order, ‘Have you ever heard such strange
news as this?’ ‘No,’ was the sage’s answer: ‘I had sup-
posed that I possessed all the knowledge of the country, for
I have heard the tales of many generations. I am in the
place of the ancients, but my knowledge is confounded
with the words of his mouth. Surely he must have lived
long before the period when we were born.’ Makaba, then
turning and addressing himself to me, and laying his hand
on my breast, said, ‘Father, I love you much. Your visit
and your presence have made my heart white as milk. The
words of your mouth are sweet as honey, but the words of
a resurrection are too great to be heard. I do not wish to
Iv. | RELIGIOUS STATE. 145
hear-again about the dead rising! The dead cannot arise !
The dead must not arise!’ ‘Why,’ I inquired, ‘can so
great a man refuse knowledge, and turn away from wisdom?
Tell me, my friend, why I must not, “add to words” and
speak of a resurrection?’ Raising and uncovering his arm,
which had been strong in battle, and shaking his hand as if
quivering a spear, he replied, ‘I have slain my thousands
(bontsintsi), and shall they arise?’
“While the chieftain and myself were engaged in the
above conversation, the most profound silence reigned, and
which continued till interrupted by one whose features ap-
peared to indicate that he was a man of war. ‘I have
killed many, but I never saw the immortal part which you
describe.’ ‘ Because invisible, I replied; and referred him
to many invisible things, the existence of which he never
doubted. Makaba again muttered, ‘What do my ears hear
to-day? I am old, but never thought of these things be-
fore ; and hinted that he had heard enough’.”
This soul-stirring quotation must cause burning thoughts
to arise in the hearts of all Christians who read it. Sechele’s
question on the same subject is a most striking one; viz.
why our forefathers, knowing these things, did not come
and tell his forefathers sooner? It is not now too late. The
way is open. The Gospel is as powerful as ever it was.
The means of communication are being quickened and
multiplied, and the Lord’s Word must have free course and
shall be glorified.
Be et Idolatry in South Africa assumes a curious
these people aspect. In the southern half there is none.
aan We have seen how Mr Moffat, and other of
the generaluse Dr Livingstone’s predecessors in the South,
ee complain of the apparent Atheism of the
cantations ae people in general. Our traveller found no
mong them. idols among them, None even among the
1 Missionary Labours, &c. pp. 403—405.
146 APPENDEX. [ SECT.
Makololo, Barotse, Makalala, and other tribes residing on
the northern banks of the Zambesi. The only approach to
it among the Makololo is a custom they have of praying to
the new moon for success, protection, destruction of enemies,
&c. This partakes more of the character of pure Sabeism,
than of real idolatry, or the worship of idols made with
hands.
He for the first time saw idols in Londa. Here their
names, kinds, and numbers, are legion. He observes that
the greater superstition of these people does not lead them
to a better practice of the virtues.
In their gloomy primeval forests—fitting places wherein
to nurse morbid fears, doleful doubts, crude surmisings, and
baseless visions, with reference to the great unknown be-
yond the grave—you find idols of some shape or kind near
to every path. Here marks or faces cut on the bark of
trees: there little pots of medicine, or miniature huts, stud-
ding the tufted sod. On the one hand hideous human
heads carved on blocks of wood; and by its side perhaps
a miserable crooked stick in all its bare deformity exalted
into an idol; all having red-ochre and pipe-clay charms
blotched over them. On the other hand, near the villages,
stand ugly idols, meant to personify lions, or alligators, or
anything you please; as well as great heaps of sticks piled
cairn-fashion, inviting the devotion of the passer-by.
Among the Balonda, their idols are objects of fear, not
of adoration. Like some persons in Christian lands, they
only go to their God when in perplexity or danger; giving
it more an oracular, than any other power.
A belief in witchcraft is common all over the whole
southern half of the continent. This subject, with that of
the ordeal, has been already treated of by Professor Sedg-
wick’. These are often employed for purposes of knavery.
Charms. and incantations are generally used. Amid
1 Prefatory Letter, pp. xviii—xx.
rv. ] RELIGIOUS STATE. 147
their evil influences, they serve one good purpose by giving
almost as much security to property in countries without
any police, or civil or international law, except those of
custom and tradition, as can be found in the most civilized
countries. Witness the case of our traveller’s waggon and
box left for months without protection. A fear of charms,
incantations, or witchcraft, so rooted in the native mind,
helped powerfully to protect these, as it does the beehives
in the forests of Londa.
On the dark side of the question, they cause murders,
tortures, and frauds, helping to display, with a photographic
hideousness of detail, the depraved deformity of the natural
mind when not converted, purified, and lighted by the
Spirit of the living God.
The Barotse have persons in charge of the
_ Some ofthe relics at Santura’s tomb, who are supported
South African ~: ? pp
tribes have a by voluntary contributions’.
shadow of a
priest- hood ; ; : ; ‘ ; :
andanotionof This with Votive Offerings is common in
the efficacy of
Sacrifice: as : :
well as practise Our traveller in various parts found traces
circumcision, of human sacrifices.
and celebrate : ot : ns
religious rites Circumcision is very generally enjoined
and ceremo- and rigidly practised among the South African
nies. :
tribes.
These people, in some parts, are so absurdly extravagant
in religious and funeral ceremonies, as to ruin themselves,
rather than not make a display.
The positions assumed at the head of this
Sacrifice is almost unknown in the south.
more northern regions.
These peo-
ple in general paragraph appear to be anomalous, but they
strongly object aye nevertheless true.
to praying and ;
religious _ ser- Our traveller relates that sometimes, be-
vices : but still fore the close of a religious service among the
evince a readi- e a
ness for the re- Makololo, the women would jostle and scold
1 Travels, p. 219.
—t
(o.6)
148 APPENDIX. [SECT,
ception of the each other, perhaps through a child crying ;
Gospel. and that then the men would swear at each
other, and at them, in order to enforce silence.
He says that these people shew great dislike to religious
exercises, service, and subjects, complaining of bad memo-
ries, and mixing up frivolous nonsense with the most solemn
truths. Yet many were very teachable and attentive,
‘‘ beginning to pray to Jesus in secret as soon as they hear
of the white man’s God, with but little idea of what they
are about; and no doubt are heard by Him who, like a
father, pitieth his children. Others, waking by night,
recollect what has been said about the future world so
clearly, that they tell next day what a fright they got by
it, and resolve not to listen to the teaching again; and not a
few keep to the determination not to believe, as certain
villagers in the south, who put all their cocks to death
because they crowed the words, ‘Tlang lo rapeleng’—
‘Come along to prayers!”
The Bechuanas and Bushmen never pray, in our sense
of the word; they say that they do so by means of their
medicines. Mr Moffat gives the following graphic account
of the indecorum of these people at public worship.
“Some would be snoring; others laughing; some
working; and others, who might even be styled the noblesse,
would be employed in removing from their ornaments cer-
tain nameless insects, letting them run about the forms,
while sitting by the missionary’s wife. Never having been
accustomed to chairs or stools, some, by way of imitation,
would sit with their feet on the benches, having their
knees, according to their usual mode of sitting, drawn up
to their chins. In this position one would fall asleep and
tumble over, to the great merriment of his fellows. On
some occasions an opportunity would be watched to rob,
when the missionary was engaged in public service. The
1 Travels, p. 236.
1v.] RELIGIOUS STATE. 149
thief would just put his head within the door, discover who
was in the pulpit, and, knowing he could not leave his
rostrum before a certain time had elapsed, would go to his
house and take what he could lay his hands upon.”
Still with all these discouraging traits of character,
and the necessary self-denial, sufferings and labours of the
missionaries, these tribes in general shew more or less
preparedness of heart and soul for the reception of the
Gospel, in the respect that they feel a need of and desire
for something, although they know not what. That “the
natural mind receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
because they are spiritually discerned,” is a well-proved
truth. Still this natural mind can conjecture and feel its
immense distance from a just and holy God, with whom it
may grope for communion and a closer walk, to be found
only by the appointed means, and in the appointed way.
These very Bechuanas have a proneness for worship, as
also have the Balonda. The marauding life of the Makololo
makes them sigh for ‘ sleep’ or peace. On many occasions
the women gave our traveller a triumphal entry into their
villages, lullilooing, and crying ‘‘ we want peace, give us
sleep my lord, &c.” The tribes farther east have a similar
desire. Surely among such a people the Prince of Peace
would be a welcome harbinger of His own heavenly rest
assured by His Gospel, if He should make them His willing
people in the day of His almighty power.
Missionary retrospect nith regard to South Africa.
“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”—1 Sam. vii. 12.
‘‘For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—-Isaiah ly. ro, 11.
An attentive perusal and consideration of the facts con-
centrated in the foregoing pages are far more calculated to
18—2
150 APPENDIX, [sncr,
convince the reader of the urgent necessity of energetic
Missionary enterprise in South Africa than any arguments
which can be brought forward to enforce it. The re-
ferences here made to missionaries, and to the work and
prospects of missions, will be brief. We must keep Dr
Livingstone in view as our main authority on the subject.
i In recording these successes with deep
issionary : : ase
enterprise and thankfulness, and in looking on a missionary
successes in map for stations, we find that the efforts which
South Africa. .
have produced such abundant fruit have been
chiefly made by Societies other than those belonging to our
own National Church. The history of Missionary enter-
prise in these regions is very interesting. Here we have
only space enough to chronicle these proceedings, without
note or comment.
The Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries did great good
in Angola; and, however erroneous their teaching might
have been, and much to be deplored, still their names and
memories deservedly live in the recollection of the people.
They were especially diligent in the education of the chil-
dren. The people in Ambaca were taught reading and
writing by them, and since their expulsion have perpetuated
these useful accomplishments by teaching each other, being
much employed as clerks and writers}.
Surely the teachers of a purer faith may hence take
courage; especially since the first instructions of these
Jesuits have been permanent among the people for so long
atime*. Their Missionary proceedings on the Eastern coast
have not been so successful ; and their memory there is in
disrepute.
The London Moravian and Wesleyan Missionary Societies
have been the great pioneers in these regions. All honour is
due to these societies, especially the first mentioned of them,
for their persevering labours as pioneers, from which such
1 Travels, pp. 410, 411. 2 Ibid. p. 411.
Iv. | MISSIONARY RETROSPECT. 151
good fruits have resulted. The London Society has now
twelve stations entirely supported by the natives on the spot.
The venerable Christian Knowledge Society has been
long forwarding the cause of Missions in South Africa, in
its own useful and peculiar line of operations. Grants of books
or of money for the support of Missionaries, building of
Schools, Churches, Cathedrals, &c., have been constantly
made by this Society at Cape Town, Graham’s Town, or Natal.
The Religious Tract and Bible Societies have likewise
acted the part of the Missionary to Missionaries, since
they have supplied the latter with Bibles, literature, &c.,
wherewith to second their own personal endeavours to teach
and improve the people.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts has establishments in our own African Colonies, in ac-
cordance with its main object of sending the Gospel to our
countrymen abroad. It has commenced missions with suc-
cess among the Zoolus and other heathen tribes.
The Church Missionary Society has stations at Sierra
Leone, as well as on and in the rs arp of the Niger.
Its Yoruba mission is well-known},
The operations of this Society refer airectly to North
Africa, but also indirectly to the South, since many slaves
from these latter regions are landed by our cruisers at Sierra
Leone. This Society has no mission in South Africa.
Keeping the central regions in view, one fact connected
1 An examination of a missionary map of South Africa wi!l shew that
the stations of the following British and Foreign Protestant Missionary
Societies are dotted over the Southern half of the Continent :—the
American Mission, the Baptist Mission, the Berlin Missionary Society,
the Christian Knowledge Society, the French Protestant Mission, the
Glasgow Mission, the London Mission, the Paris Mission, the Rhenish
Mission, the Scotch Mission, the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Moravian or United Brethren Society,
and the Wesleyan Mission,
152 APPENDIX. [sEcT.
with the operations of this Society in Sierra Leone is of sig-
nificant interest, as being thus stated in one of their papers :
«But the chief importance of Sierra Leone consists in its
being the Basis oF MissIoNARY OPERATIONS in the interior
of Africa. Already two missions have been commenced in the
interior—one among the Timnehs, east of the Colony, the
other, above 1,000 miles south-eastward in the neighbour-
hood of the Niger, in the Bight of Benin; a third is about
to be established on the banks of that important river’.”
This may become a valuable radiating centre for such
operations. The negro population of the Colony is now
45,000, speaking 15] different African languages.
Conjointly with these facts, the very curse of the slave-
trade will help to work its own cure. Thousands of central
Africans, captured by our cruisers on board the slavers, and
set on shore in this colony, are here taught Christianity ;
an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on persons of divers tongues
and nationalities, so kidnapped and released, may—some-
what after the manner of the spiritual effusion at Pentecost
—impel them to return to their native wilds, and help them
there to teach their sable brothers and sisters the wonderful
words and works of God. Hence the morning-star of the
Gospel dawns on central Africa from the east, from the west
and from the south.
With reference to the good influences of Christianity in-
sensibly exercised on a people, our traveller says: “ Many
hundreds of both Griquas and Bechuanas have become
Christians and partially civilized through the teaching of
English missionaries. My first impressions of the progress
made were, that the accounts of the effects of the Gospel
among them had been too highly coloured. I expected a
higher degree of Christian simplicity and purity than exists
either among them or among ourselves. I was not anxious
1 A Brief View of the Principles and Proceedings of the Church Mis-
sionary Society, &c. Sept. 1857, pp. 7—8.
Vv. | MISSIONARY RETROSPECT. 153
for a deeper insight in detecting shams than others, but I
expected character, such as we imagine the primitive dis-
ciples had—and was disappointed. When, however, I
passed on to the true heathen in the countries beyond the
sphere of missionary influence, and could compare the people
there with the Christian natives, I came to the conclusion
that, if the question were examined in the most rigidly
severe or scientific way, the change effected by the mission-
ary movement would be considered unquestionably great.
«« We cannot fairly compare these poor people with our-
selves, who have an atmosphere of Christianity and enlight-
ened public opinion, the growth of centuries, around us, to
influence our deportment; but let any one from the natural
and proper point of view behold the public morality of
Griqua Town, Kuruman, Likatlong, and other villages, and
remember what even London was a century ago, and he
must confess that the Christian mode of treating aborigines
is incomparably the best}.”
He farther says that the latent effects of missions and
missionaries on savage people are very great indeed: “ The
indirect benefits, which to a casual observer lie beneath the
surface and are inappreciable, in reference to the probable
wide diffusion of Christianity at some future time, are worth
all the money and labour that have been expended to pro-
duce them*.”
When dwelling with the Makololo Dr Livingstone some-
times addressed 600 people at a time; many of these were
oftentimes very attentive. Some would go away, and pray
to Jesus—ignorantly, perhaps—but still their heavenly
Father will accept of their devotions according to their light.
It will be remembered how that Schwartz in India, and
other missionaries in various parts of the heathen world,
sometimes stopped wars between tribes and nations, and
feuds between families and individuals.
Travels, pp. 107, 108. * Ibid. p. 226.
154 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Dr Livingstone on five occasions prevented war among
the African tribes, either by influencing public opinion, or
by swaying the mind and counsels of the chief. When
opportunity offered he introduced salutary laws, abolished
barbarous customs, and restored liberated slaves to their
families and tribes.
In short the united testimony of civil and military
officers, missionaries and travellers, goes to prove what in-
estimable blessings Christian missions have conferred on the
South African tribes, hence leading us in reference to pre-
sent and future efforts to rHaNK GoD AND TAKE COURAGE.
et It is not only so ordered by our heavenly
isslonary ° . :
difficulties in Father, that in this world the evil shall be
South Africa. mixed with the good; but also that the great-
est and best shall be produced and sustained with the most
difficulty. War, the demon-scourge of our race, is main-
tained by the millions readily voted by a nation’s senate,
and applauded by the praises of a people’s voice; but the
message of the Prince of Peace is perpetuated by suffering,
contemned by power, and propagated too often by the
comparatively niggardly offerings of a country's mite.
Missionary work has its difficulties and failures. The
blood of the martyrs has ever been the seed of the church.
Toil, care, anxiety, persecution, stripes, imprisonment and
death, were the common lot of the first Christian missionaries:
but they sowed in tears, and soon nill reap in joy. They went
forth weeping, bearing precious seed, and shall doubtless come
again with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. Such
has been the fate, and like will be the reward, of the faithful
modern missionary.
Let us turn attention to some of the difficulties belonging
to missionary work, mentioned by our traveller.
It is not easy to make the subject of religion plain to
persons unaccustomed to think, and who have led only an
animal life. In reference to language, different idiomatic
Iv. . MISSIONARY DIFFICULTIES. 155
usages, and modes of thought, often require in the mission-
ary an uprooting of his own habitudes of expression and
ways of thinking, in order that he may become one with
those whom he teaches.
Among a nomad people difficulties are even greater.
The first thing is to get them to settle down. With such
you may have a congregation of some hundreds one day,
and another these may be all scattered to the winds.
We have before seen how the Boers hindered the work :
and the following remarks of our traveller fairly represent
some other difficulties.
““In addition to other adverse influences, the general
uncertainty, though not absolute want, of food, and the
necessity of frequent absence for the purpose of either
hunting game or collecting roots and fruits, proved a serious
barrier to the progress of the people in knowledge. Our
own education in England is carried on at the comfortable
breakfast and dinner-table and by the cosy fire, as well as
in the church and school. Few English people with sto-
machs painfully empty would be decorous at church any
more than they are when these organs are overcharged.
Ragged schools would have been a failure had not the
teachers wisely provided food for the body as well as food
for the mind; and not only must we shew a friendly interest
in the bodily comfort of the objects of our sympathy as a
Christian duty, but we can no more hope for healthy feelings
among the poor, either at home or abroad, without feeding
them into them, than we can hope to see an ordinary
working-bee reared into a queen-mother by the ordinary
food of the hive.
«Sending the Gospel to the heathen must, if this view be
correct, include much more than is implied in the usual
picture of a missionary, namely, a man going about with a
Bible under his arm. The promotion of commerce ought
to be specially attended to, as this, more speedily than
156 APPENDIX. | SECT.
anything else, demolishes that sense of isolation which
heathenism engenders, and makes the tribes feel themselves
mutually dependent on, and mutually beneficial to, each
other '.”
The difficulty of getting the natives at first to attend
with reverence on divine service, or to religious duties, has
been before dwelt on*. When Dr Livingstone attempted to
sing or pray among the Bakalahari, these people burst out
into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, thinking him to be mad,
or that he judged them to be so.
Then, again, a native literature has to be founded and
extended. This is a work requiring much time and labour,
especially in a country wherein languages have to be
arranged in grammars, and over the thousands of whose
square miles not a bookseller’s shop is to be found.
Still these difficulties will be overcome. Those Christian
missionaries who first came to the British Islands before
St Augustine, as well as he, found our forefathers half-
clad savages; and what has Christianity after the lapse
of ages made us now?—The greatest nation standing in
the forefront of the civilization of the most astonishing
age of the world’s history. Let Britain fulfil her mission;
especially towards Africa, whom she has, in former years,
helped to degrade, enslave and curse.
Missionary There is no doubt whatever but that our
failures and : ; «aeons
shortcomings National Church is much behind in missionary
in South Af effort among these people. She certainly has
pe a Bishop of Sierra Leone, Cape Town, Gra-
ham’s Town, and Natal: together with the missionaries be-
longing to the two great Societies before mentioned. But
these are labouring mainly in our own Colonies. She has
few missions among the real heathen in Africa; especially
in the South.
Dr Livingstone says that Sectarianism is a source of
Travels, pp. 27—28. 2 Appendix, p. 148.
#v:1 MISSIONARY FAILURES. 157
hindrance to the work :—* Such a variety of Christian sects
have followed the footsteps of the London Missionary
Society’s successful career, that converts of one denomina-
tion, if left to their own resources, are eagerly adopted by
another; and are thus more likely to become spoiled than
trained to the manly Christian virtues?.”
He further states:—
« Another element of weakness in this part of the
missionary field is the fact of the Missionary Societies con-
sidering the Cape Colony itself as a proper sphere for their
peculiar operations. In addition to a well-organised and
efficient Dutch Reformed Established Church, and schools
for secular instruction, maintained by Government, in every
village of any extent in the colony, we have a number of
other sects, as the Wesieyans, Episcopalians, Moravians,
all piously labouring at the same good work. Now, it is
deeply to be regretted that so much honest zeal should
be so lavishly expended in a district wherein there is so
little scope for success. When we hear an agent of one
sect urging his friends at home to aid him quickly to occupy
some unimportant nook, because, if it is not speedily laid
hold of, he will ‘not have room for the sole of his foot,’ one
cannot help longing that bothhe and his friends would direct
their noble aspirations to the millions of untaught heathen
in the regions beyond, and no longer continue to convert
the extremity of the continent into, as it were, a dam of
benevolence’.”
The work of evangelization is generally a gradual one
in influencing race. The case of New Zealand is an excep-
tion to this rule. Some tribes do not at first receive the
Gospel at all; and with all others temporary failures arise
from various causes, although the work goes on rapidly in
some cases. Many Africans have the same feelings towards
missionaries, which our poor often have towards the clergy
* Travels, pp. 113166. * Ibid. p. 116.
158 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
here at home. They teach because they are paid for it, say
both. In such circumstances ministrations are most difficult.
Despite these, and many other hindrances to the progress
of the Gospel in South Africa, still labour has not been in
vain, and strength has not been spent for nought. ‘‘ The
wilderness has begun to blossom as the rose;” all these
heathen do not despise the day of their visitation. Additions
are being made to the church daily of such as shall be
saved. ‘The degraded have been raised, the savage tamed.
“Those who have lien among the pots shall be as the wings
of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow
gold.” These shall go in and out and find pasture in hea-
ven’s kingdom of unfading glory.
The Qualifications and Attainments necessary for the Suc-
cessful Missionary in South Africa.
*« And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do ?”—Acts ix. 6.
“‘Depart ; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles,’—Acts
RIAs (20 5
«But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb,
and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach
him among the heathen ; immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood.”—Gal. i. 15, 16.
Dr Livingstone has been a successful missionary; and
since his main object in coming to Cambridge was to try to
influence some among us to become missionaries, we may
profitably attend to his ideas on this important head,
Already has he briefly discussed the topic’.
Feeling convinced that many persons would like to
know his opinion on so great a subject as to the type of man
the best suited for a missionary in Africa, presupposing
spirituality of mind, and devotion of heart and soul to
God’s service, in December last the Editor of this book
} Lecture IT. p. 37.
rv.] THE MISSIONARY. 159
addressed to him the following questions, stating that he
wished to print them herein together with his reply.
These questions are:—
Ist. What natural qualifications of mind and body do
you consider to be the best adapted for the successful mis-
sionary in South Africa?
2nd. What training and attainments are, in your judg-
ment, the most conducive to the formation of the same
character ? |
3rd. What equipment, speaking generally, as to cloth-
ing, library, scientific and other instruments, &c. is the
best to provide for such a missionary ?
Dr Livingstone’s answer is as follows.
12, Kensington Palace Gardens,
My DEAR SIR, lst January, 1858.
The time which I have now at my disposal
is so extremely limited that I cannot answer your questions
otherwise than in the most cursory manner.
ist, Different departments of missionary labour require
different accomplishments; but robust health and a good
flow of animal spirits are necessary in all cases. A man
who is troubled with infirm health, and given to melan-
choly, had better stay at home and get some kind soul of a
wife to nurse him. In this, as in most matters, we must
lean to common sense.
Queries 2 and 3 may be answered by my saying that
mental discipline is essentially necessary: and I think that
a study of the physical sciences is a better preparation than
that of the dead languages.
A medical education embraces so wide a range that I
always feel unfeignedly thankful for having gone through
that curriculum.
It is a mistake to suppose that any pious man may do
for a missionary. One of the founders of the London
160 APPENDIX. [SEcT.
Missionary Society thought that ‘a good man who could
read his Bible, and make a wheelbarrow,” was abundantly
qualified. This was a great mistake. Missionaries ought
to be highly qualified in every respect. Good education,
good sense, and good temper are indispensable. If Chris-
tians send out poor ignorant agents, they act on the penny
wise and pound foolish plan.
Some think that if a man is an acceptable preacher
at home, he ought to stay there. I believe that if a man
has ability to gather a congregation here, he would in all
probability be successful in the mission-field. But it is
these energetic enterprising men who are needed most
abroad, and it may be questioned whether the foreign is not
the most important field. We have the honour of entering
on a work which will never end. We look back to the
Reformers before the Reformation with more reverence
than we feel to the thousands who have entered into their
labours. The Apostle had a noble ambition to preach the
Gospel beyond other men’s line of things made ready to
his hands, ‘“ They that be wise shall shine as the sun, and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever.”
I am sorry that I cannot enter more carefully into the
subject, but time presses.
The books came safely to hand; please present my
grateful acknowledgements to the kind donors of them.
I look back to my visit to Cambridge as one of the
most pleasant episodes of my life. I shall always revert
with feelings of delight to the short intercourse I enjoyed
with such neble Christian men as Sedgwick, Whewell,
Selwyn, &c. &c., as not the least important privilege con-
ferred on me by my visit to England. It is something
inspiriting to remember that the eyes of such men are upon
one’s course. May blessings rest upon them all, and on the
seat of learning which they adorn!
1v.] THE MISSIONARY. 161
Viewing the books presented in connexion with the
motives with which they were given, and also with regard
to their intrinsic value, I shall always feel inclined to second
any vote of thanks which may be passed to the Boers for
destroying my library.
Kind regards to Mrs Monk.
Your’s affectionately,
DAVID LIVINGSTONE.
To Rev. W. Monk,
Aubrey Villa, Cambridge.
This letter, full of heart and noble as it is, since it in
reality embodies his own line of conduct, nevertheless does
not answer some important points contained in the ques-
tions!.
Our traveller gives the following account of his own
equipment for his journey from Linyanti to Loanda. The
information is valuable for the African traveller or mis-
sionary, to be modified, of course, to his own circumstances.
“Thad three muskets for my people, a rifle and double-
barrelled smooth bore for myself; and, having seen such
great abundance of game in my visit to the Leeba, I
imagined that I could easily supply the wants of my
party. Wishing also to avoid the discouragement which
would naturally be felt on meeting any obstacles if my
companions were obliged to carry heavy loads, I took
only a few biscuits, a few pounds of tea and sugar, and
about twenty of coffee, which, as the Arabs find, though
used without either milk or sugar, is a most refreshing
1 Perhaps Dr Livingstone, on the receipt of some copies of this
little book, will discuss these questions more fully from amid those
African scenes to which they refer, if he should have leisure to do so.
The Editor will be obliged if any traveller or missionary who has
resided in Africa will reply to these inquiries, in order that he might
concentrate, in some future edition of this book, the wisdom and ex-
perience of many with reference to these topics.
162 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
beverage after fatigue or exposure to the sun. We carried
one small tin canister, about fifteen inches square, filled
with spare shirting, trowsers, and shoes, to be used when
we reached civilised life, and others in a bag, which were
expected to wear out on the way; another of the same size
for medicines; and a third for books, my ‘stock being a
Nautical Almanac, Thomson’s Logarithm Tables, and a
Bible; a fourth box contained a magic lantern, which we
found of much use. The sextant and artificial horizon,
thermometer and compasses, were carried apart. My am-
munition was distributed in portions through the whole
luggage, so that, if an accident should befall one part, we
could still have ofhers to fall back upon. Our chief hopes
for food were upon that, but in case of failure I took about
20 lbs. of beads, worth 40s. which still remained of the
stock I brought from Cape Town; a small gipsy-tent, just
sufficient to sleep in; a sheepskin mantle as a blanket, and
a horse-rug asa bed. As I had always found that the art
of successful travel consisted in taking as few ‘ impedi-
menta’ as possible, and not forgetting to carry my wits
about me, the outfit was rather spare, and intended to
be still more so when we should come to leave the canoes.
Some would consider it injudicious to adopt this plan, but
I had a secret conviction that if I did not succeed it would
not be for lack of the ‘ nicknacks’ advertised as indispen-
sable for travellers, but from want of ‘pluck,’ or because a
large array of baggage excited the cupidity of the tribes
through whose country we wished to pass.
‘<The instruments I carried, though few, were the best of
their kind. A sextant, by the famed makers Troughton
and Sims of Fleet-Street; a chronometer watch, with a stop
to the second’s hand—an admirable contrivance for enabling
a person to take the exact time of observations; it was
constructed by Dent of the Strand (61) for the Royal
Geographical Society, and selected for the service by the
iv. | THE MISSIONARY. 163
President, Admiral Smythe, to whose judgment and _ kind-
ness I am in this and other matters deeply indebted. It
was pronounced by Mr Maclear to equal most chronometers
in performance. For these excellent instruments I have
much pleasure in recording my obligations to my good
friend Colonel Steele, and at the same time to Mr Maclear
for much of my ability to use them. Besides these, I
had a thermometer by Dollond; a compass from the Cape
Observatory, and a small pocket one in addition; a good
small telescope with a stand capable of being screwed into a
tree'.”
aighe ader This is not an easy question to answer:
fitted for the and a reply to it must always be given prayer-
work _ of .? fully. It applies to both sexes, and to man
Christian Mis- a 2 sal ? y
sionary to the persons; but is meant more especially to refer
Been to Christian Ministers. Not only does it re-
quire earnest prayer, but also rigid self-examination.
The great missionary model is St Paul. His life can be
found and studied in the New Testament; and the per-
manence of his work testifies of its excellency at this day.
The Natural qualifications of the Christian Missionary.
—Dr Livingstone has already told us of some of these,
such as good temper, and lightsomeness of temperament in
easily throwing off or overbearing depressing influences.
A sound mind in a sound body, independence cf character,
strength of judgment, and aptitude both to learn and to
teach are of great consequence. An ability to acquire and
retain languages; tact in managing others, so as to con-
ciliate diverse dispositions, and yet to retain proper dignity
and self-respect, are of great importance. There should
also be an intrepid spirit of enterprise, decision, and cool
courage to meet sudden emergencies, and to overcome dan-
gers, gentleness, powers of endurance, and temperance.
We may rightly conclude, with our traveller, that some
1 Travels, pp. 230—231.
19
164 APPENDIX. [sucr,
degree of enthusiasm is necessary vigorously to carry on
any difficult and important cause.
Good preaching and the power of speaking are indis-
pensable. It is to be remembered that many savages,
especially North American Indians, and central Africans,
are eloquent speakers, and hence in a controversy, would
have the advantage of a bad speaker.
Dr Livingstone has put the case truly, when he says that
we want our best, most able, and greatest men to do the
highest and most important of all work, the making Christ’s
Gospel known where it has not been hitherto heard. Paul
was a great man before he became a missionary. He was
aman of mighty spirit and capacious soul, a good scholar,
and in high repute among his own nation. His missionary
character made him a greater man still; it did not demean
him. Many of the greatest men in the early Church were
missionaries; and some were men of affluence. We mean
great in moral and spiritual goodness and grandeur of
character, as well as noble in intellect. Not many learned,
not many wise, not many noble, not many rich, now carry
the standard of the Prince of Peace into the enemy’s coun-
try of heathen darkness. The time will arrive when the
Lord’s service and badge will become the most honourable
and the most desired of all. The army and navy, in every
land, can find their willing warriors in abundance, to go to
the ends of the earth, and brave death unquailingly, while
mammon sends forth her worshippers in shoals; not so the
church of Christ: her soldiers hang back. How long shall
this be? |
Many of the natural qualifications needed by missionaries
when actually engaged in their work, are centred in the
character of our great missionary traveller. With reference
to these the Bishop of Oxford eloquently observes; “ Truly
it does need the combination of different men and different
faculties before any such vast undertaking as this can be
Iv. | THE MISSIONARY. 165
achieved. There must be, first, the physical, the intellec-
tual, the moral, and the spiritual faculties combined in one
person, which are so eminently combined in Dr Livingstone,
before the actual agent in such explorations can be pro-
vided.... He, too, combined in himself rare faculties for his
work of stepping out, if I may so express it, as to African
explorations the first track of civilized feet on the dange-
rous and untrodden snows, which at any moment might be
found to have merely loosely covered fathomless abysses.
He had the physical strength needed for such work. He
had the capacity for understanding the greatness of his
enterprise, and, Gentlemen, I believe it to be full of the
truest greatness’.”
These passages certainly refer to the specific work done
by him; but similar faculties and energies are required
by every missionary when wandering, or settled, among
savages.
The moral and spiritual qualifications needed by the
Christian missionary.—The following quotations, spoken
with reference to Dr Livingstone, will help to illustrate
some of the moral qualifications needed in the missionary.
Sir R. IJ. Murchison, after referring to the great work
done for the scientific world by Dr Livingstone, said:—
«These are great claims upon the admiration of men of
science; but, great as they are, they fall far short of others
which attach to the name of the missionary who, by his
fidelity to his word, by his conscientious regard for his
engagements, won the affections of the natives of Africa by
the example which he set before them in his treatment of
the poor people who followed him in his arduous researches
through that great continent?.”
Fidelity to his plighted word, and conscientious regard
for engagements, must ever be a high moral characteristic
of the Christian missionary.
» Speech at the Farewell Livingstone Festival. 2 Ibid.
19—2
166 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Humility, patience and power to withstand the applause
of men for well-doing, are other desirable traits.
“It was for the public of England now to do its part,
to give free scope to this great genius in the double work
of civilization and evangelization. They must have seen
how Dr Livingstone had successfully encountered all the
trials of adversity, fatigue, sickness, weariness, hope de-
ferred, peril of death. ‘There yet remained one more trial,
to some the sorest of all, namely, that of comparative ease,
and the praise of all men. Believing, as the Missionary
Society did, that his faith in Christ is firmly fixed, they
doubted not but that he would go through this trial also
without fail; but they will, I trust, continue to offer up con-
stant prayers for him in his new and dangerous position, that
the blessing of the Almighty might still accompany him’.”
There are other points on which the missionary has to
be kept from the evil, when surrounded by masses of people
without natural modesty, public law, private virtue, or
religious restraint. The following words of our traveller
will indicate some of these.
« Although the Makololo were so confiding, the reader
must not imagine that they would be so to every individual
who might visit them.” Much of my influence depended
upon the good name given me by the Bakwains, and that I
secured only through a long course of tolerably good con-
duct. No one ever gains much influence in this country
without purity and uprightness. The acts of a stranger
are keenly scrutinized by both young and old, and seldom
is the judgment pronounced, even by the heathen, unfair
or uncharitable. I have heard women speaking in admira-
tion of a white man, because he was pure, and never was
guilty of any secret immorality. Had he been, they would
have known it, and, untutored heathen though they be,
would have despised him in consequence. Secret vice
1 Lord Ebury’s Speech on the same occasion.
rv. | THE MISSIONARY. 167
becomes known throughout the tribe; and while one
unacquainted with the language may imagine a peccadillo
to be hidden, it is as patent to all as it would be in London,
had he a placard on his back'.”
In fact, sobriety, uprightness, good faith, purity and a
manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit in general, are as
much needed to solidify and enforce spiritual gifts among
the heathen, as among ourselves.
For a digest of the spiritual qualifications needed by the
Christian missionary, we must turn to the Scriptures. Such
a man must be a man of prayer, of earnest zeal, of childlike
faith, of deep humility, and of constant love for his Mas-
ter and His cause. His work will conform him more and
more to that Master’s image. Like the Apostles at first his
gifts may be few, but at the last they will multiply and
grow: and like them he will look less and less to the king-
dom which is of this world, and more and more to that
which is of the world to come.
The attainments best suited for the Christian Missionary.
—The man of high intellect as well as high attaimment is
the best man for the work, provided that his other quali-
fications are suitable. Still he must possess common as
well as uncommon sense. The great matter is for certain
qualifications and attainments to be applied to kindred
work. Linguistic to translation, practical to every-day
life, administrative to organization and the like. Martyn,
unravelling the Hindoo and Mahommedan subtleties, and
Judson battling the Pantheistic creeds of Burmah, were men
with qualifications for their work. So was Brainerd amid
the primeval forests of America; and so are numbers of our
Colonial Bishops and foreign missionaries. Especially so
are Moffat and Livingstone in Africa. Yet how different
are the attainments and qualifications of these several men.
But each one in his place.
1 Travels, p. 513.
168 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
St Paul’s case furnishes a complete example of the
missionary ready for his work. Had he to shew the fulfil-
ment, and not the abrogation of the law by Christ? surely
the aptest pupil of Gamaliel now converted to the Christian
faith was furnished for the work. Were Moses and the
Prophets to be harmenized with Christianity >—were the
Jewish ritual and ceremonial to be made to typify better
things than the blood of bulls and goats for the remission
of sins ?’—were Jewish prejudices to be met, and Rabbinical
disputations to be confuted? or was the scepticism of the
Sadducee to be cleared up, the pride of the Scribe to be
humbled, and the legality of the Pharisee to be exposed?—
surely one well versed in their mysteries, taught in their
own synagogues, lisping their own language in his infancy,
and now lighted in spirit with a live coal from off God’s
altar of truth, was qualified for the task. But see him turn
to the Gentiles. Here he was a philosopher among phi-
losophers,—a poet, man of literature, orator and diploma-
tist,—among poets, literati, rhetoricians, politicians and
statesmen. He could be all things to all men in intellect as
well as in other things. Analyse his speech at Athens.
Almost every clause of it is a refutation of some deep
recognized axiom or dogma cherished among the Epicureans,
stoics, or other philosophers. Here was a man trained for his
work. The acutest of those Athenians, to their cost, soon
found out that Paul was no witless babbler after all. Before
the unjust Roman judge, and Judeza’s puppet king, his
burning words savoured not of madness, but of soberness
and truth.
There is much value to be attached to a training in
natural science, as recommended by Dr Livingstone. No
missionary ought to go out, at any rate into the heathen
field of missions, without some knowledge of surgery,
medicine, and their attendant branches of scientifie ac-
Iv. | THE MISSIONARY. 169
quirement. Professor Owen’ thus eloquently refers to
such a training.
“In the perusal of the Missionary’s Travels it is impos-
sible not to infer the previous training of a strong and
original mind richly and variously stored; not otherwise
could science have been enriched by such precious records
of wanderings in a previously untrod field of discovery.
Our honoured guest may feel assured that whilst the culti-
vators of science yield to no class of minds in their appre-
ciation and reverence of his dauntless dissemination of that
higher wisdom which is not of this world, such feelings
enhance their sense of obligation for his co-operation in the
advancement of that lower wisdom which our great poet
defines as ‘resting in the contemplation of natural causes
and dimensions.’ ”
The missionary must be well versed in common things.
The following passage referring to the monastic orders of
the middle ages, applies to modern missionaries similarly
situated,
“The monks did not disdain to hold the plough. They
introduced fruit-trees, flowers, and vegetables, in addition
to teaching and emancipating the serfs. Their monasteries
were mission stations, which resembled ours in being dis-
pensaries for the sick, almshouses for the poor, and nurseries
of learning. Can we learn nothing from them in their
prosperity as the schools of Europe, and see nought in their
history but the pollution and laziness of their decay” >?”
A knowledge of the resources and geography of the
country in which the missionary resides, as well as of the
manners, habits, customs, and prejudices of the people
among whom he labours, is of great consequence to the
missionary.
In several passages of his work our traveller gives us a
picture of every-day missionary life. The stern reality of such
» Speech at the Farewell Festival. ? Travels, p. 17.
170 APPENDIX. — [ SECT.
a lifeshould be kept in view, rather than the romance or poetry
of ideal wanderings among wilds and savages, and philoso-
phic surveys of uncivilized and idolatrous life. At Kolobeng,
we find him helping to make a canal, preparing a garden,
and building his fourth house, with his own hands. A
native smith taught him to weld iron, while he had become
handy in carpentering, gardening, and almost every trade.
As his wife could make candles, soap, and clothes, they
came nearly up to what may be considered as indispensable
in the complete accomplishments of a missionary family in
south central Africa}.
It is commonly agreed among missionaries and oriental
travellers, that Europeans, and especially missionaries re-
siding in the East, should be married, On the one hand
the wife, when properly qualified, is a valuable help-meet ;
and on the other hand the Eastern nations look with great
distrust on unmarried men, and hence their usefulness
hereby is much impaired.
We close this part of our work with the following graphic
description of a single day of missionary life.
“To some it may appear quite a romantic mode of
life; it is one of active benevolence, such as the good may
enjoy at home. Take a single day as a sample of the
whole. We rose early, because, however hot the day may
have been, the evening, night, and morning at Kolobeng
were deliciously refreshing; cool is not the word, where
you have neither an increase of cold nor heat to desire, and
where you can sit ouf till midnight with no fear of coughs
or rheumatism. After family worship and breakfast between
six and seven, we went to keep school for all who would
attend; men, women and children being all invited. School
over at eleven o'clock, while the missionary’s wife was
occupied in domestic matters, the missionary himself had
some manual labour, as a smith, carpenter, or gardener,
1 Travels, p. 20.
1. THE MISSIONARY. 171
according to whatever was needed for ourselves or for the
people; if for the latter, they worked for us in the garden,
or at some other employment; skilled labour was thus
exchanged for the unskilled. After dinner and an hour’s
rest the wife attended her infant-school, which the young,
who were left by their parents entirely to their own caprice,
liked amazingly, and generally mustered a hundred strong;
or she varied that with a sewing school, having classes of
girls to learn the art; this, too, was equally well relished.
During the day every operation must be superintended,
and both husband and wife must labour till the sun de-
clines. After sunset the husband went into the town to
converse with any one willing to do so; sometimes on gene-
ral subjects, at other times on religion. On three nights
of the week, as soon as the milking of the cows was over and
it had become dark, we had a public religious service, and
one of instruction on secular subjects, aided by pictures and
specimens. These services were diversified by attending
upon the sick and prescribing for them, giving food and
otherwise assisting the poor and wretched. We tried to
gain their affections by attending to the wants of the body.
The smallest acts of friendship, an obliging word and civil
look, are, as St Xavier thought, no despicable part of the
missionary armour. Nor ought the good opinion of the
most abject to be uncared for, when politeness may secure
it. Their good word in the aggregate forms a reputation
which may be well employed in procuring favour for the
Gospel. Shew kind attention to the reckless opponents of
Christianity on the bed of sickness and pain, and they never
can become your personal enemies. Here, if anywhere, love
begets love *.”
1 Travels, pp. 40—41.
172 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Missionary Prospects in South Africa.
**Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked,
and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And
it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a
little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” 1 Kings xviii. 43, 44.
Dr Livingstone’s career must be considered as opening out
anew era for South Africa. Although the missionary prospects
of this region were before and are improving, still clouds and
sunshine chequer the rising scene. Yet, in the event, the
dawn of the morning of joy shall usher in upon this continent
and elsewhere, the rising of the Sun of nghteousness, which
shall be for the healing of the nations, streaming with undi-’
verted ray in azure and purple and gold over the everlasting
hills of eternity, dispelling those doubts, fears and perplexities,
as well as the unbelief and sinfulness which prevent the soul
from seeing and being united with her Creator.
The Mission-field in South Africa.
** Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ;
for they are white already to harvest.” St John iv. 35.
In the infant days of the Church, Africa seemed destined
to be evangelized from the north. Such is not at present the
prospect. Zhen were Councils and Synods held by African
bishops, the decrees of which went forth apparently as a final
authority in matters ecclesiastical, not only in Africa, but also
in Europe and Asia. Zhen was the glory of the early Church
upheld at Alexandria and Carthage, these cities being great
centres of episcopal authority. Zhen did African martyrs
and African confessors live the lives of saints and die the
deaths of Christian heroes. There were intellect, rank and —
the best qualities of our nature, sanctified and adorned by
Christian gifts and graces, which made Africa appear to be
the chosen genial soil wherein grace, mercy and truth might
germinate and fructify. But no; all there is now almost a
rv. MISSION FIELD. 173
natural and spiritual desert. The glory is thence departed,
but is not to be forgotten. Time hath written Ichabod upon
its shattered escutcheon in characters which even the dust of
centuries has not effaced. Still some faint spiritual splendour
flickers around it, phosphorescent though it be. The light is
all but put out in the north, and must now advance from
the other three quarters.
Travellers, voyagers, men of science and missionaries are
by degrees telling us their wondrous stories of this land of
mystery. It is now for the Christian to go in and possess it.
The way is open and opening. The Apostles who go must be
those of Christ ; not those of mammon, of mere adventure, or
proud ambition. In too many cases the white man’s look on
the poor negro has been that of the fascination of the basilisk,
leading to harm and destruction. His breath has been that
of moral and spiritual pestilence, his feet have been swift to
shed blood, and his very presence has been like that of the
baleful upas tree. Let not this be the case in central Africa-
It is for the Christian Church to occupy this field first with
her faithful ambassadors of Christ. Let these speak jirst of
the white man’s God; not of mammon, not of reason, not of
pleasure, or of this world, but his God—the Trinity in Unity,
reconciled by the sacrifice of a suffering Saviour. Let these
shew the beauty of holiness by living that Gospel which the
Church professes, teaches and believes. Zhen, if Satan’s serv-
ants come afterwards, these keen clear-sighted savages will at
once discern the wheat from the chaff, and, by God’s grace,
cling to the white man’s good and eschew his blighting evil.
Dr Livingstone says most decidedly that the interior is the
most promising sphere for missionary labours. Not only are
the people less savage, but such operations may have great in-
fluence on the slave-trade. He has presented this odious
traffic to the world in a new aspect; enabling us now to know
both its real sources and principal abettors in the interior, as
well as its probable cure.
174 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
Missionary societies and the friends of missions, may well
remember his urgent recommendation to push on to the un-
taught heathen. There is every reason and encouragement for
this. In parts where the earlier missionaries laboured, the
work is become entirely self-supporting, as far as aid from
England is concerned.
Surely, then, the missionary work is real, and the mission-
field among the heathen, is no barren waste. These truths are
forcibly stated by Sir Benjamin Brodie?, in the following
passage: “ But Dr Livingstone is also presented to us under
another aspect, as a Christian missionary, using his endeavours
to extend the advantages of civilization, not after the fashion
of the Roman conquerors of Gaul and Britain, by transplant-
ing, at the cost of rapine and bloodshed, the arts and sciences
of an older and more civilised people into the conquered
country, but by communicating knowledge, promoting educa-
tion, and inculcating the principles of a religion which enjoins
the exercise of kindness, charity and justice, which tells us
that we are to forgive our eneinies, and do unto others as we
would they should do unto us.”
Missionaries wanted more than means, to carry on the work.
‘* How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring-
eth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reign-
eth!” Isaiah lii. 7.
The cry for men does not proceed from one society, but
from all. ‘The supply hitherto has by no means been equal to
the demand. This need of men must be more and more made
known and discussed throughout the length and breadth of
the land. It must be more prayed over, preached about, and
made the subject of earnest concernment both with ministers
and people.
A call came to Paul, in a midnight vision, stealing up
1 Speech at the Farewell Festival.
1. | MISSIONARIES WANTED. 175
from the cities and wilds of ancient Europe—‘t Come over
into Macedonia and help us.” The Apostle heard and obeyed
that call. A like cry in spirit reaches this land of Bibles,
missionary societies and religious privileges—from all the dark
places of the earth— Who will shew us any good ?” Who will
answer this invitation, so full of plaintive, earnest, absorbing,
spiritual agony? The work among the heathen demands your
men of a great battling spirit, earnest in prayer, and wrestling
prevailers with our God. It will tax the best energies of the
strongest frame, and find fitting employment and materials
for the efforts and aspirations of the loftiest genius. Men of
purpose, men of acquirement,—men of spiritual mind, who
love the Saviour and his cause,—men who can largely in-
fluence others by their very presence, and by persuasion,
teaching and example ;—men who live zm this world, und yet
who are not of it,—who are pilgrims and strangers here below
—these are the men to answer this call. Such men need care
but httle about having no settled home now, for they have
another, which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God. Yes: such are the men to reply, “ Here I am, Lorn,
SEND (NOT HIM—-ANOTHER—BUT) ME.”
Our Universities are becoming more and more alive to this
great work'. They are national institutions, and this is a
national duty for them especially to carry forward. In these
time-honoured institutions, the aspect of things pertaining to
missionary responsibilities, privileges and enterprise, is rapidly
changing, and will go on exactly in proportion to the activity
and earnest prayerfulness of spirit evinced by their members.
Appalling and urgent are the spiritual wants, and conti-
nuous is the wail of a benighted world for peace, pardon, and
acceptance with God. How shall this wail and how can these
1 The Universities not only send large subscriptions to the Mission-
ary Societies; but Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin alone have now
about fifty graduates labouring in heathen lands as ordained clergymen
who are supporied by the two great Church Societie
176 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
wants be met? What shall we do to increase the supply of
men? Looking at these questions just now solely with re-
spect to the fact that God does deign to work out some of even
his grandest purposes through the instrumentality of human
means, we appear to want more systematic and energetic
missionary action in our Universities, and increased means of
familiarizing the mind with the reality of the work and its
pressing needs.—A greater familiarity with foreign countries,
languages, races, manners, customs, and religions, appears to be
a great desideratum.
We would venture to suggest the importance of a good
Missionary Museum, and Reading Room, containing an appro-
priate Library comprising not only books treating directly and
indirectly on the subjects under review, but also maps and
atlases, as well as lexicons and grammars referring to the
languages and dialects the most employed by missionaries in
their intercourse with the heathen. To all this, copies of
the Scriptures and Prayer-Book printed in the same tongues
might advantageously be added; together with a collection of
autograph letters written home by missionaries and travellers,
as well as a number of their portraits—the reports and current
literature of the Home and Foreign Protestant Missionary
Societies being added to all. Moreover occasional meetings
for prayer, conversational and general missionary purposes,
carried on in strict subordination to academical duties and
pursuits, must be highly important.
The frequent presence of eminent missionaries and travellers
among such a body would also produce an effect of untold
consequence. The strangeness and perplexity of idea pertain-
ing to foreign lands and races would perhaps hereby be worn
away more effectually by such intercourse than by any other
means, except the fact of actually going to see, hear and feel for
oneself.
Of course we bear in mind the truth that “the Lord of
the harvest will thrust forth labourers into His harvest.” But
Iv. | MISSIONARIES WANTED. 177
we know not in what way. His servants have to use all the
means which they lawfully can to forward such an end, and
then—not till then—to leave the result to Him.
Nowsieeaiés Facts prove this position. We are not to
aretobesought conclude that missionaries are sent into the
eee inn work only by one irresistible impulse like
field of opera- St Paul was. This is contrary to Christian
tions. experience in general. Many are doubtless so
impelled to offer themselves for the work. But others are to
be led to it,—to be gradually prepared for it by intercourse
with, and advice from, persons competent to influence and
guide them. Henry Martyn to a great extent was so directed.
Mr Simeon was instrumental in preparing—directly or indi-
rectly,—and sending out many nrissionaries. Dr Morison,
Dr Medhurst and Dr Milne, all went to China at the sug-
gestion and recommendation of others; so also did Williams
to the South Seas, On the authority of an eminent Clergyman,
now living, it can be stated that the Rev. Henry Fox went
out as a missionary on his recommendation. Such has been
the experience of many living missionaries. We may conclude
that this list can be greatly enlarged by making inquiries and
receiving information on the subject.
Dr Livingstone, on visiting the reading-room of the Church
Missionary Union, told the Editor of this book, that he him-
self belonged to a like Society in the University at Glasgow ;
observing that his mind was much influenced towards mission-
ary work by intercourse with the members of that Society ;—
adding, that he was one of jive contemporary members, out
of a small general body, who became missionaries. These
facts are significant ; and with their bare statement, we leave
this unspeakably important subject for prayerful consideration,
and God’s blessing on it,
178 APPENDIX. [ SECT.
The Means appointed for the Work—The Victory Won.
‘‘He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Rev. xxii. 20.
These means are, the word preached, and the word written!.
The Missionary Societies are sending out their Missionaries to
preach the Gospel; and the Bible, and other Societies, are
scattering the written lively oracles of God over the whole
earth.
That word preached shall not return unto the Lord void,
but it shall accomplish all his purposes. Hereby shall Chiist’s
kingdom be enlarged and Satan’s empire be destroyed.
Dr Living- When Bishop Selwyn spake memorable
stone’s mis- words in Great St Mary’s Church’, just before
1 Mr Moffat has just completed his translation of the whole Bible
into Sichuana. The importance of this achievement cannot well be esti-
mated.
There is something very striking in bringing this labour, Sebituane’s
conquests, and Dr Livingstone’s explorations and discoveries, all to-
gether.
At the same time that Sebituane is introducing the language where
it was not before spoken, Mr Moffat is treasuring up the Holy Scrip-
tures in its first standard record. At the appointed moment, Dr Living-
stone makes these facts, together with the new races and regions, all
known to the Christian world.
Professor Selwyn, in one of his Theological Lectures, well compared
this fact of Sebituane’s conquests being the means of diffusing the Scrip-
tures, with the anterior coincidence of Alexander’s exploits having
spread the Greek language and Greek Scriptures in Asia.
* He preached four sermons as select preacher before this Univer-
sity on the four Sundays preceding Advent, in the year 1854. The
subject of these sermons is ‘‘THE WORK OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD.”
They are published by Macmillan and Co.; and should be read by all
lovers of the cause of Christian missions to the heathen; and especially
by those who desire the mission work. Bishop Selwyn’s visit here,
sermons, and speech at the Town Hall, deservedly made a profound
sensation ; as well as produced fruit in calling forth labourers into the
harvest. These facts favour the suggestions made at p. 176.-
Iv. | THE MEANS TO BE USED. 179
sionary be- hig return to New Zealand,. somewhat after
Gaanbrides. this manner ;—‘“ Methinks there must be some
spiritual electricity in this black cloud which now surrounds
me—(waving his hand all round towards the dense array of
Gowns)—which in the Lord’s own time and way will go
forth to the ends of the earth to do his Almighty bidding for
the conversion of souls;”—he was a true prophet. He spoke
in faith, and that faith was answered. There are those now
in the Mission field who heard and obeyed that call.
Hundreds will never forget that solemn thrill produced
by Dr Livingstone’s peroration to his Senate-House lecture’,
when waving his hand in the same manner as the Bishop—
he retired amid deafening plaudits, abruptly stopping with
that simply sublime appeal—“I Leave rr wirH you!”
Certainly some of those who heard him there will be
missionaries somewhere, but will any go to Africa? Will
Cambridge accept of and improve this trust? ...O Lord.
God, Thou knowest!
The Word written shall find its own mysterious tortuous
way into every region, dialect, and language of the earth ; and
men shall be convinced of sin, as well as taught their need of a
Saviour by its life-giving power. It shall whisper peace to the
agitated conscience, and tell of the love of a Father reconciling
the world to himself by the blood of his Son. Each humble
believer in its promises shall be enabled to obtain the victory
over the world, the flesh, and the devil by that same power
which bestows the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, to guide,
counsel, and sanctify each softened heart. It shall climb the
throne of each monarch, and tell him of a Sovereignty greater
than his: demanding and finding entrance into the council-
chamber of the legislator, it will teach him that lesson of so
difficult realization, ‘““To do unto others as he would have
others do unto him.” It shadd strike with the electric speli of
conviction both the consciences of the ignorant, and the cogi-
1 See page 24.
20
180 APPENDIX. [srcr.
tations of the learned ; and—bursting through all barriers into
every den of infamy, haunt of pleasure, idol-temple, and arena
of scepticism and infidelity in the world—it shall confound,
convict, condemn, and send to punishment all those impenitent
workers of iniquity who before may have been told to no pur-
pose of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Its
still small voice of blissful comfort sha// cheer the widow and
the orphan—light up with hope the eye of the pining captive,
and send the mantling blood of indignation into the withered
cheek, as well as an unearthly energy into the drooping frame
of each poor fettered slave, proclaim him free, and give back
his stolen rights. Yes, that Word shal/ stop the mouth and
blanch the cheeks of Satan and his crew; and, then,—having
conquered these worst enemies of man ;—having put light for
darkness, and truth in falsehood’s place—it shall take from the
grave his victory, and from death his sting, when it goes forth
resistlessly both to glorify the Lord, and be itself abundantly
glorified.
The victory shall be won—hand to hand, step by step.
Mission Stations are being gradually increased. These, just
as stars in the firmament are larger and more glorious the
nearer we get to them, will shine brighter and brighter the
swifter time advances the Church towards the moment of
the lifting up of her head, when her redemption draweth nigh.
Moreover the nearer the stars are approached, the more
numerous they appear, here and there starting into sight as
distance is shortened, until they themselves are lost in heaven’s
refulgent splendour. So also do these Mission Stations in-
crease, and shall do so, until their twinkling light, glimmering
fitfully through the dismal gloom of heathenism, shall blaze
out steadily into the brightness of the perfect day, and illumi-
nate earth’s spiritual sky with one belted zone of spiritual
glory.
Bright days then are in store for Africa. The race of
Ham shall not always be accursed. God will yet more enlarge
Iv. | THE VICTORY WON. 181
Japhet, who shall dwell in the tents of Shem; but Canaan
shall not for ever be his servant. All mankind are brothers—
one in blood—one in interests—one in hopes and fears for the
world to come. Let them then act as brothers, and as the
offspring of one common father who pitieth his children, and
who will never leave nor forsake the work of his own hands.
That time shall come when the earth shall be filled with a
knowledge of God’s unapproachable glory; but for it the Church
must wait, hope against hope, and fight. And then, having
come out of great tribulation, and washed her robes white in
the blood of the Lamb, she shall, through the instrumentality
of her missionaries, gather her children out of every clime
and kindred under heaven to sit down with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
“‘Waft, waft, ye winds, His story,
And you, ye waters roll;
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spread from pole to pole;
Till o’er our ransomed nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss return to reign.”
THE END.
é‘
Cambridge: Printed by C. J. Clay, at the University Press.
© el. re pep mune eens
yds elaine phy ise: < Dn Bf
) Be Bae... Habe reset neat Ny!
aa ne Pisiodoes heh va nirtersniatpaties oo} sais ~
hilt i awe 2 RRS Sot Wie 5 inet dew Bi SSID
ine) EH hea
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Wooded Country
s larvae
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7
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Map to illustrate
I Livingstone's Route
across
AFRICA;
: ie |
Ly i if
; ‘ io Kan o k | Constructed from his Astronomical Observations, ‘o
' dt * Bearings, Estimated Distances Sketches ,
“x N ae: a D &e.&e. ig
\ td Te . by J.Arrowsmuth.
Sa ae Hot anyt
q <i " : y J 1857. |
mA No meat 2A Le
oe De Sy Ae j
, 540 20 30 40 50 100 150 /
th ee oa =
f Londa & of all the | eu English Miles |
a D* Livingstenes Route is Coloured. i
a
a Note. .
Hill “Is Map Rivers. Outlines of Lakes,.te. delineated by uncontimuous lines, and I
ae Namves written in hairline letters; show aenerally, the amount of Oral
‘bo raphical information which
BY? Living stone collected from —." t
es ne whom lie conversed during his Travels across Africa . /
Maravi or N Nyanja
!
ace eas omens 6
7
ee |
4
‘
\
“a =
S
Vas
y
Me
(2 r
%,
. ‘
x
a
' P
Yes
~S.
'
wf
\
S
cpangari — Ovaburga
Ovampo
Onde _
Frosha, Sale Pant
a
Wayans
|Kasakero
| or Bushmen
# Lobale impassable in the rainy season ieee |
mM aia ast 5
igjel, Monahaulee e
SP aboutagp Baroese
“E/ Katongo
icle or Nalie
ameta
| rae.
Banyeti a
5 1) Woe
Naribue CS caer
| Jounal” =
610
oe. | fe Mako
Matiamvo is the Faramount Chief of Londa &-of all the Teople called Balondar
ye _“eCAZEMBE |
| __-_ Ht boshe
ange |
| Te Camoea ene” | e ¥
| S ; Sebolama@kwea
SS. Moments} ote
a wd
2 | Masiko Me
M B rE
Muromnba I
= Shuiad /
|
or
Ma‘tuka 3 :
is oo
across 8
AFRICA, E
Constructed from his Astronamical Observations,
Bearings, Estimated Distances .Sketches,
ReRe.
by J-Arrowsmith.
30 49 50 ___ wo 430 i
English Miles 10
Geographical
Mativer wth
, DMarati or Nya
D? Tivingstones Route is Coloured
4
+ (ina =
_ Mineo
bale
Map to illustrate
TD Livingstone’ Route
how aerurally, the aznount of Oral
DE Living atone collected From intelligent
daring his Thavels arress Africa... JA. |
ja
Shupanga
Mazar)
Shemongaart “k
TT Iga T
TPT]
TT a6!
Pubs for the Journal of the Raval Geographiail Sect by IMurray.Albenarle 30
Tats Tu |aual
1857 — and br parmizsion of the Gbunail, in this Work.
it]
ee
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